Easy Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins Recipe

Gluten free blueberry muffins can be a cinch to make. A few weeks ago I shared my revised recipe for a gluten free master baking mix (like Bisquick, but much healthier.) The great thing about this mix is the ease of preparation for so many baked goods!  Muffins are one of the first recipes I tried with the new mix.

I've made double chocolate chip muffins, apple cinnamon muffins, and these lovely little blueberry muffins. Each batch turned out a really delicious, light, and fluffy muffin! This recipe is for a small batch of 6 muffins. It could easily be doubled or tripled depending on how many muffins you need.

For high rising gluten free muffins, make sure to fill your muffin tin until it's almost full. Another trick: To get pretty round muffin tops -- wet your finger with water and smooth out the top of the muffin batter before placing it in the oven.

What are your favorite kinds of muffins? What types of recipes would you like to see using the Gluten Free Master Baking Mix?

Easy Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins
free of gluten, dairy/casein, and soy
created by carrie @ gingerlemongirl.com
Print-friendly recipe
Makes 6 muffins

1 cup Revised Gluten Free Master Baking Mix
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup almond milk (or other non-dairy milk)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup frozen blueberries (do not defrost!)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with 6 paper liners. In a medium sized bowl add gluten free master baking mix and sugar. Stir together and add milk, egg, and vanilla. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Fold in frozen blueberries. Fill muffin tins 3/4 full with batter. Bake for 17-20 minutes until muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack and serve!


Carrie's Notes:

• Egg-Free Option: Replace the egg called for with 3 tablespoons of hot water mixed with 1 tbsp. of ground flax seeds. 
• I haven't tried the muffins using agave nectar or honey in place of the sugar, although I'm quite positive it would work with very good results!
• Muffins are one of the most adaptable gluten free baked goods. If you don't have any Master Baking Mix, use any type of gluten free pancake or baking mix you have on hand. Make sure the mix has leavening ingredients and xanthan gum! 

This recipe has been listed at Amy's Slightly Indulgent Tuesday's! Make sure to check out her blog for other fantastically healthy & delicious gluten free, sugar free recipes! 

Simple Baked Apples - Easy Gluten Free Desserts

Photo courtesy of Andrew Crowley

*This is a guest post I shared in 2008 on $5 Dinners.com. I am so ready for fall weather! Even though autumn is still a few months away I thought this would be a great time to share one of my favorite easy desserts! You don't even need a pie crust to enjoy baked apples. Simple, healthy, and delicious!

One of my favorite things about being gluten free is that the desserts are wonderful! Believe it or not, using gluten free flours to make brownies, cakes, or cookies can be a lot of fun and incredibly tasty!!

But as much as I love to bake, sometimes it's easier to simply make something naturally gluten free!

My favorite naturally gluten free dessert: Fruit!

Fruit is so healthy, delicious, and full of natural sugar & fiber that sometimes it simply makes the best dessert you'll ever have!

The dessert I'm sharing with you today is one of my favorites to make for company. It is elegant, sweet, and has a lovely presentation! I grew up surrounded by apple orchards in southwest Virginia. We ate a lot of apples and I still love them!

When apples are baked they caramelize and turn a beautiful golden brown. The are deliciously sweet and make a perfect light dessert! We enjoy this year round, although primarily in the fall when apples are abundant and very frugal. Even off season though, apples are a great frugal choice for desserts and snacks. This dessert will easily fall around $3 total depending on the prices you can find on pecans and apples. I think it's an extremely budget-friendly and healthy choice!

I prefer not to peel my apples, as the peel is incredibly healthy and why waste such a nutritious part of your dessert!

Photo courtesy of Goldfinch Restaurant.

Carrie's Simple Baked Apples
a simple technique for baked fruit

4-5 Gala -or- Honeycrisp apples, washed and cored, and sliced
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

Directions:
Spritz a medium sized casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray. Place apple slices skin side down on the baking dish. Drizzle honey evenly over the apples. Sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg evenly over the apples and lastly chopped pecans. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 minutes until apples are golden and tender. Serve immediately. makes 4-6 servings.

**To make an apple crisp, in a small bowl simply mix together: 1/4 cup almond flour, 1/4 cup gluten free rolled oats, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons coconut oil. Mix it all together and sprinkle over the apples before baking. This will crisp up and make a beautiful dessert! It's awesome served with coconut milk ice cream!

Enjoy!!

30 Days Gluten Free Quick & Easy Meals: Day 20 - Carrie's Turkey Kielbasa with Sauerkraut

Welcome to 30 Days Gluten Free Quick & Easy Meals!

I can't believe we are 20 days into this wonderful series on super fast & delicious gluten free meals!

Thank you so much for joining me & all the other amazing gluten free food bloggers who have participated the last 20 days! Please stay tuned throughout the last ten days of this 30 Day challenge! Along with more incredibly yummy recipes & tips from fellow bloggers, there will also be a fun giveaway once the 30 days is over!

Day 20 - Carrie's Turkey Kielbasa & Homemade Sauerkraut.

During summers when I was growing up, my sister & I often had the chance to spend a few weeks with "Nan," our grandmother. One of the first recipes I featured on this blog was Nan's Skillet Dinner, another family favorite and definitely a 20 minute meal. Nan also taught my dad how to make his basic & easy pancakes, a super easy gluten free weeknight meal!

Nan knows all about simple & easy meals and today's recipe is a meal she often made for my sister & I.

This meal is SO easy, and literally takes less than 20 minutes to prepare. I love using sauerkraut because it's a very healthy way to incorporate cabbage into your diet. Sauerkraut can be an acquired taste, but after this meal, it's even on my husband's list of favorite dinners!

You can buy prepared sauerkraut at any grocery store. It's available in jars, canned, and even fresh in bags either in the produce section or the fresh meat section.

At home though, we make our own. Making homemade sauerkraut takes a little bit of time initially, but it's SO easy. It takes as little as 3 days to "cure" and then it's ready to eat and of course be used instantly for dinner! For instructions on how to make your own sauerkraut, visit Meghan's blog for a great tutorial video.



Another thing I love about this meal is that is contains so few ingredients. And really, like most of the recipes that have been shared the past 20 days, this is only a cooking technique. Use ingredients that you have on hand. Don't have a green pepper? Add a red pepper or tomatoes. Add shredded carrots for more color and yumminess! Don't have sauerkraut? Shred some fresh red or purple cabbage and use that instead.

Real cooking, especially EASY cooking is simply learning to creatively use the ingredients you have available!



Carrie's Turkey Kielbasa with Homemade Sauerkraut
Free of gluten, casein, and soy
Makes 4 servings

1 (14 oz.) package turkey kielbasa, sliced into 1/4" thick pieces
1 green pepper, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 - 3 cups prepared sauerkraut
1-2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
2 cups cooked brown rice -or- jasmine rice (1/2 cup per serving)

Directions:
In a non-stick -or- seasoned cast iron skillet saute green peppers in olive oil for 2-3 minutes until they are bright green. Add cut kielbasa pieces and saute on medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes. Add sauerkraut and freshly ground pepper. Saute with kielbasa for an additional 10-12 minutes until heated through. Serve with cooked rice & fresh fruit or a salad.

* I put the rice on the stove (cooked according to package directions) right before I start sauteeing the green peppers. The rice will be fully cooked & super fluffy by the time the kielbasa & sauerkraut has been heated through.

For more information about me & this blog, please check out my "About Carrie" page!

*********

Stay tuned for Day 21 in 30 Days Gluten Free Quick & Easy Meals. Tomorrow will feature a beautiful recipe from Heather, author of TheCeliacFamily. Also check out Healther's post with a listing of all the Gluten Free Q&E recipes so far!!

Gluten Free Homemade Vegetable Broth Recipe and a WINNER!

Credits:
Photo reprinted with persmission and courtesy of Noob Cook

It was one of those "Oh... I didn't even think about that" vegan moments. A recipe called for chicken broth. What do you use in place of chicken broth? Water didn't sound that appealing and tomato juice was too tomato-ey...

So... after another "duh" moment, I decided to make vegetable broth. Why didn't I think of this before? This is SO easy and so delicious and works so well in recipes... who needs chicken broth!

What I love about making broth is that you can create the flavor that you want. If you like more onions, add more onions, if you like more carrots, add more carrots! If you want tomatoes, add tomatoes! It's completely up to you and you can change it every time. Another great thing about homemade vegetable broth is that it is an excellent way to use vegetables that aren't quite as fresh as they used to be. Are they starting to shrivel? Look a little tired? It's okay, they won't mind at all. Just throw them in the pot!

So today's recipe is simply a suggestion. Try this out. Make your own vegetable broth. Feel domestic... and enjoy the fact that you created this wonderfully healthy broth to use in your home cooking.

Some uses for homemade vegetable broth:

• Use it as your "liquid" in making mashed potatoes and/or homemade stuffing, it adds a truly delicious flavor!
• Make your own homemade soups and stews with the vegetable broth as the base liquid.
• Use the broth to cook rice & pasta, and to boil potatoes in... you will LOVE the flavor it adds!
  
• Vegetable broth is fat free and can be a great tool to use in low fat cooking such as sauteing and steaming.
  
• If you have someone who is sick: give them plain warmed vegetable broth. It is very healthy and can soothe sore throats and is gentle on upset stomachs.
• Bring leftover casseroles back to life by adding a few tablespoons of homemade vegetable broth over the entire dish and heating it in the oven. It will rehydrate the dish and make it taste like it was just made!
• It will make the best base for a vegetable and dumpling soup that you have ever tasted!
  

Basic Homemade Vegetable Broth
Written by: Carrie @ http://www.gingerlemongirl.com
The ingredients for this very basic broth will make about 10 cups of broth.
You can use more or less ingredients + water to create the amount that you will use.

2 whole carrots, roughly chopped
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
1 onion, roughly sliced
2-4 whole peeled cloves of garlic
1/2 of a large green pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
10 mushrooms (any type will work!), rinsed
4-5 small red potatoes, quartered
*** Any vegetables will really work for this broth, use what you have on hand!***

Optional seasonings:
1-2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
Salt-free seasonings such as Mrs. Dash
Salt & Pepper
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon summer savory
1 teaspoon rosemary
1-2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon whole peppercorns
Fresh parsley

Directions:

1. Coarsely chop all vegetables and add to a large stock pot. Also add any optional seasonings that you desire.
2. Add 10-12 cups of water to the stock pot.
   
3. Bring stock to a rolling boil and then turn heat down to just simmering.
   
4. Simmer over low heat for 2-4 hours.
5. Taste the stock as it cooks to adjust seasonings until you get the flavor that you desire.
   
6. Once stock has cooked, let it cool for several hours on the stove top.
7. When cool, strain stock through a very fine sieve to remove all vegetables. You will be left with a very fine tan - brown stock that is absolutely delicious.
   
8. Some people choose to puree the vegetables that were used in the stock and add then add them back to broth for a creamier texture. You can do this if you choose too. If you want a clear stock, simply use the discarded vegetables for another dish, or add them to your compost.
   
9. Store cooled broth in glass jars or airtight containers in the refrigerator or the freezer. Will keep for about 2 weeks in the refrigerator and for 6 months in the freezer.
   

(Printer-friendly recipe.)

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The winner of Stephanie O'Dea's Make it Fast, Cook it Slow Cookbook was chosen randomly with the help of Random.org...

The winner is:
GUDRUN45

Her entry stated:
"My favorite slow cooker recipe is an extremely simple pinto bean soup. I'd sure like to expand my gluten-free crockpot horizons and would love to win this book.

Gudrun45 -- Please email me at gingerlemongirl@gmail.com with your contact information and I will ship the book to you immediately!

Congratulations to Gudrun45 and THANK YOU to everyone who entered the contest!

Simple Fresh Homemade Lemonade Recipe (gluten free)

Summer is the time for lemonade. Fresh squeezed lemons, cold water, and sugar or the sweetener of your choice... that's all it takes to make your own lemonade!

Every week during the summer season I make a batch of homemade lemonade. There is something soothing during the process. It's almost like baking homemade bread. The actions of slicing the lemons in half, squeezing them, straining the juice, and adding it to fresh, crisp, cold water and mixing it with agave nectar and stevia. Then to drink the first glass of lemonade over ice. It makes you smile. It tastes like summer and it makes me want to be outside.

This Fourth of July make your own lemonade at home! It's refreshing, cool, and surprisingly good for you! Just watch out, because making your own will probably become a habit! ;-)

You can choose to make the lemonade with plain sugar, agave nectar, stevia, splenda... choose what you like best. I used to make my lemonade with sugar, but since I am having to watch my sugar intake I now make my lemonade with a mixture of liquid stevia and a small amount of agave nectar.


Simple, Fresh Homemade Lemonade

3-4 lemons, freshly squeezed and strained (-OR- about 1/3 cup of lemon juice)
2 quarts fresh, cold water
**1/2 cup simple sugar syrup (or the sweetener of your choice) + more to taste

If you are using fresh lemons: cut them in half, juice/squeeze them, and then place a plastic strainer over a 2 qt. pitcher. Pour the squeezed lemon juice over the strainer to remove pulp and seeds. I like to add a little bit of lemon pulp back in my fresh lemonade. Add 2 quarts of cold water and the simple syrup or sweetener of your choice. Refrigerate and serve cold over ice!

Happy Gluten Free Forth of July!!

Homemade Almond Milk (Gluten Free, Casein Free, Soy Free)

straining homemade almond milk and dill-almond "cream cheese"

I had no idea along this journey to health that I would need to give up so many traditional foods. Wheat... No problem! White sugar... No problem!!

But cheese? Milk? Butter? Those things I grew up literally loving to eat... and yet always had a tummy ache and a stuffy nose afterwards. Once I gave up gluten, although I felt SO much better... I knew there were other foods causing problems. I was just REALLY crossing my fingers that milk would not be one of them.

Yet, I realized through a process of elimination that it was. And I have to tell you dairy was NOT easy to give up.

Thankfully though, after nearly 2 months of casein free living, I've realized life is still tasty without milk!

I do not need dairy anymore.

And I am learning how to make substitutes that are SO much healthier for my body and I love being able to create these foods in my own kitchen!

One thing that I've been making a lot in the past few weeks is almond milk.

I tried to make homemade nut and rice milks in the past, but my old blender just wasn't powerful enough to effectively blend them into a delicious beverage.

Enter Meghan Telpner... again... ;-)

A few weeks ago when I followed Meghan's Green Smoothie Cleanse program, I learned a few tips from her website for making easy homemade almond milk.

Tip #1: Pre-soaking the almonds. This procedure not only creates a healthier almond milk because the nuts begin the sprouting process and therefore are able to release more nutrients, but they are also softer and easier on your blender.

Tip #2: Straining the almond milk after blending. Why I didn't think of this when I tried making it previously I will never know... sometimes the best tips are the most simple!

Once I began soaking raw almonds and straining the blended mixture to create homemade almond milk, I couldn't believe how EASY it was!! Almond milk is SO delicious and it's a snap to make at home with a good blender! It's fresh, quick, and very healthy!!

I use this easy unsweetened homemade almond milk cup for cup in any recipe calling for milk. If you prefer a sweetened milk add 1-2 tablespoons of agave nectar or honey while blending. Later this week I will post about other wonderful things you can make with fresh soaked almonds such as almond cheese, and chocolate chip cookies! The best thing about making fresh almond milk at home other than it being incredibly easy and healthy, is that it is also VERY "green." You don't have to waste or throw away any part of the almonds, the almond milk, or the leftover almond pulp. This week I'll teach you how to effectively use those raw almonds without creating any waste while making incredibly delicious and healthy foods!



Homemade Almond Milk
Yield: 1 quart

1 1/2 cups raw almonds, soaked for 12 hours (rinse with fresh cold water before using!)
5 cups fresh, filtered water, divided
* 1 tablespoon agave nectar or honey (optional)


Method:
In your blender add almonds and 3 cups of water *If you choose to sweeten your almond milk add honey or agave nectar to blender with water and almonds. Blend/process on the highest setting for 2-3 minutes to create a thick, creamy almond milk. Using a fine metal or plastic strainer pour blended almond meal mixture through strainer and into a large bowl. Scoop the remaining almond pulp left in the strainer back into the blender and add additional 2 cups of water. Again blend mixture on high setting for several minutes and again pour mixture through strainer. Scoop remaining almond pulp out of strainer and store in refrigerator . At this point you can store the strained almond milk in a quart size glass jar in the refrigerator (for up to 10 days), or you can double-strain your milk using the instructions in the notes below.

*If you enjoy cooking demonstration videos, here is Meghan's FANTASTIC tutorial on homemade almond milk. I highly recommend watching it!





Carrie's Notes:

• I generally like to strain the almond milk a second time because my husband won't drink the milk unless it is very, very smooth!! SO, to strain a second time, I line the strainer with a thin cotton cloth, cheesecloth, or a coffee filter and strain again. The 2nd straining can take 10-15 minutes. I place the strainer over a large bowl, line the strainer with a cotton cloth or a coffee filter (in the picture above I used a coffee filter) and slowly pour in the almond milk. As the milk slowly strains, gently pour in remaining milk mixture. You can speed up the straining process by using the back of a spoon to stir and press the mixture around the strainer (as shown in Meghan's video). Once the mixture has finished straining save the remaining almond pulp in the fridge to use for other recipes.

• I personally LOVE using fine mesh plastic strainers! I have a whole set of these and I use them nearly every day in my kitchen for making things from scratch! They do not cost much, and are easy to clean and are quite durable!! They are also perfect for straining homemade coconut yogurts and other foods made with starters because they contain NO metal and therefore do not disrupt the natural fermentation process.

• Reader Sara pointed out that making homemade nut milks is MUCH easier using a cotton sprouting or nut milk bag! I couldn't agree more! You won't have to double strain the milk. I actually ordered some of these bags last week, but I haven't received them yet! They will save you a lot of time and kitchen clean up if you have them available.
  

• Soak almonds in clean fresh filtered or spring water and make sure to rinse thoroughly before using in homemade almond foods.

• You can use all different kinds of RAW nuts in this recipe, macadamias (although I have heard not to soak them, as it can alter the taste), cashews, pecans, walnuts, brazil nuts, etc... I prefer using raw almonds because they are so mild in taste and really give a beautiful white color to the milk.
  

Green Smoothie Cleanse -- Day 4

Day 4 of the Spring Green Smoothie Challenge!

I have to say I'm proud of myself for sticking this out! We're halfway done! Tomorrow will be last full day of the cleanse and then I will take 3 days to slowly transition back to eating healthy meals.

This has been a great challenge to me in so many ways! I'm proud of what I have learned during this process and I'm proud of myself for having the discipline to stick with this program. It is 9 days total from the first day of transition to the last. I slowly entered into the program and I will slowly transition back to whole, nourishing, gluten free, dairy free, and soy free foods!




A few things I've observed while doing this program:

- I feel really healthy and I like that feeling!!
- I am learning what it means to be a conscious eater -- a true accomplishment for this girl who will eat when stressed, bored, or ill-at-ease.
- I have learned that I do not "need" a full course meal (especially for every meal) to make my tummy happy.
- I am learning how to recognize when I want a type of food simply because I have fond memories for it, not because it is healthy or good for my body.
- I am starting to enjoy exercising just for the sake of exercising, not necessarily to accomplish a forced goal!
- I feel like smiling more often when my body feels well!
- I have more confidence in myself and what I believe I can do!

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Speaking of conscious eating and comfort foods...

Tonight's smoothie is probably my absolute favorite so far in the program! On the way home I thought about the smoothie I would like to have for dinner. It's amazing the things your body will crave during programs like this ;-) ... do you know what I wanted all day today? A peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Heavy on the peanut butter, light on the jelly.

How could I make a smoothie that *might* taste similar? My favorite jam is strawberry, so I knew strawberries would go in. And with strawberries... a banana always makes a happy companion! For the "peanut butter" part, I settled on almond butter since we are not eating peanuts during this cleanse to avoid mold.

Here's my smoothie. Compared to other smoothies I have made so far, this one is very filling due to the high protein content of the almond butter. Feel free to adjust the amounts to suit your taste and calorie consumption!

Carrie's Strawberry Almond Protein Smoothie


2 cups collards
3-4 leaves romaine lettuce, stems removed
1 banana
1/2 cup strawberries
3 tablespoons almond butter
1 teaspoon bee pollen
1 cup almond milk
1 cup water
1 cup ice
*swirl of agave nectar -or- pinch stevia to sweeten, if necessary (I didn't need additional sweetness!)

Add all to blender and pulse until smooth. Serve immediately Makes around 1.5 pints depending on how much liquid you add. This is one smoothie I'll definitely be making on a regular basis!


Carrie's Notes:

- I was surprised at how well the collards are blended into this smoothie! The primary flavors are a mixture of strawberry, banana, and almonds, even though there are substantial greens! It was a nice break in the routine of very, very green smoothies!

- I loved added the bee pollen to this smoothie because it reminded me even more of peanut butter and jelly, or honey in this case! It's very healthy and a great source of natural sweetness!

- I bough very very ripe bananas at the grocery store today. I find that overripe bananas are wonderful in smoothies because of the serious natural sweetness! The lady in line behind me asked why in the world I would buy such ripe bananas! I told her that I peeled them, froze them, and added them to smoothies. She was genuinely delighted. She smiled and said, "Wow, I never would have thought to do that. What a smart shopper you are!" It made my day!

Green Smoothie Cleanse -- Day 3

Day 3... which is actually day 1 of the beginning of ALL green smoothies, for all three meals, for three consecutive days. I transitioned into the 3 day green smoothie cleanse by going from one green smoothie meal to today, 3 smoothie meals.

I have to admit yesterday was harder than today. I like to chew and crunch and munch. So the lack of these comfortable motions of my mouth were really missed by yesterday afternoon. Was it hard today? Well, a little, but I kept telling myself, this is only for 3 days. You can do anything for 3 days! Today actually went quite smoothly (pardon the pun) as a matter of fact! ;-)

For the occasion my steadfast old trusty blender died. Yes, it died. Just when I needed it consistently for about 6 days! So while I couldn't buy a Vitamix, I was able to afford a nice Kitchenaid Blender. I am IN LOVE with my new blender! The shakes are VERY smooth, ice crushed perfectly, and it makes me one happy little smoothie maker! I decided to go with a Kitchenaid because I use a KA stand mixer that has lasted over 12 years, and it's still working like it's brand new! I have high hopes for the quality of this blender!

I think I have decided I'm not extremely fond of parsley in a smoothie. My morning breakfast smoothie had parsley and it was quite strong tasting. I still finished it, but decided I would use other greens for the rest of the day!

Tonight's smoothie has a little bit of protein, a few tablespoons of pineapple, and my favorite greens: spinach and kale. It has been very refreshing way to spend Sunday evening! If you try it tell me what you think!


Gentle Evening Smoothie

1/4 cup pineapple
1 Asian pear
handful of grapes
1 tablespoon gogi berries
2 tablespoons soaked almonds
1 1/2 cups spinach
1 1/2 cups kale
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 1/2 cups ice
1 1/2 cups water
* add stevia or agave nectar for additional sweetness

Place all in blender and pulse until smooth. Serve immediately.

Are you making smoothies? Do you enjoy them? What kinds of smoothies or shakes do you make in your blender? Share with me in the comments!

Until tomorrow!

Fresh Strawberry Pie Again!! (Gluten Free)

I have such amazing memories of being in the kitchen with my great-grandmother. Her best dessert is a fresh strawberry pie. I believe this is the only way you should make a strawberry pie!

Making this pie marks the beginning of spring for me. In eastern NC, spring seems to get here earlier and earlier each year. These beautiful berries were my first purchase from a local strawberry farm. Thankfully they will be selling them through May, so you can bet neighbors will be getting a strawberry pie or two this month!

Strawberry pie is actually a very simple pie to make. I try to make several gluten free pie crusts ahead of time and freeze them. That way, when it's strawberry season, you can just pull out your ready made pie crust, bake it, and you are ready to go!

Here is how to make my grandmother's strawberry pie:

Buy a quart of strawberries from a local farmer! If you are going to use them immediately rinse them off, and place them in the fridge. If you are going to use them later, DO NOT RINSE until you are ready to use them!!

Cut the strawberries into slices or quarters. I did a little of both!

Gather your ingredients for the strawberry gelatin, this is going to be the wonderful gooey stuff that holds the pie together! We'll use cornstarch, lemon juice, sugar, and plain ol' strawberry gelatin.

In a saucepan, mix together 1 cup of water, 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, and 3/4 cup of sugar. Let this mixture come to a boil for 3 minutes.

Take the thick-syrupy mixture off the heat and add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and 3 tablespoons of strawberry gelatin. Mix together thoroughly.

Let this yummy sweet syrupy mixture cool for 5-10 minutes.

Grab your favorite pie plate!
Okay, you don't have to use this specific plate, but it sure makes it seem more authentic!

Here is my pie crust before prebaking. Make sure when you are prebaking the crust to use a fork and put holes in the bottom crust! This will keep your crust from bubbling and cracking. You can also place a sheet of foil over the unbaked crust and place pie weights or a bag of beans on top of the foil to weigh down the crust while baking.

Once your pie crust is completely cool. Spread about 4 tablespoons of cream cheese over the bottom. This will act as a shield against the pie filling and keep your crust nice and crispy!

Next, fold your strawberries into the cooled strawberry syrup/gelatin and pour this mixture into your crust. It will be a beautiful bright red! Refridgerate the pie for 2-3 hours before serving. This will allow the syrup/gelatin mixture to completely firm up and set.

Here is my second pie. I ran out of strawberries, so I added some frozen wild blueberries that I defrosted and rinsed.

Serve up this pie with a big dollop of whipped cream! Enjoy!!

My Great-Grandma P.'s Strawberry Pie
free of gluten and soy

printer-friendly recipe

1 quart strawberries, rinsed, patted dry, and quartered or sliced
1 gluten free pie shell, baked and cooled
1 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons strawberry gelatin (Jello)
4 tablespoons reduced fat cream cheese

Directions:
In a medium sized saucepan whisk together water, cornstarch, and sugar. Bring to a rolling boil. Continue to boil for three minutes. Mixture should be think and gel-like. Take off heat and stir in lemon juice and strawberry gelatin. Set mixture aside and let cool for 5-10 minutes. Warm cream cheese in a small bowl in microwave for 20 seconds. Spread cream cheese over the bottom of your cooled gluten free pie crust. This will act as a barrier between your pie crust and your pie filling to keep your crust crispy. Fold cut strawberries into the strawberry gel mixture and pour into pie shell. Refridgerate 2-3 hours before serving so pie will set. Calories do not count when serving strawberry pie! Serve with fresh whipped cream.

Healthy Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothies (Gluten Free, Casein Free)

I will be the first to admit that I was not always a supporter of low carbohydrate diets. I thought diets based on this principal were generally unhealthy, high in saturated fats, and hard for the body to digest properly.

I have learned that low carbohydrate means different things to different people. While I do consume saturated fats, they are not the basis of my diet. More than anything, since I began eating low carb I have learned to prepare and cook more fresh vegetables than I've eaten in my last 30 years.

Just a few of fresh vegetables that I've started to eat on a regular basis:

- eggplant
- cauliflower
- yellow and green zucchini
- different lettuces (other than iceberg and romaine)
- asparagus
- broccoli
- cabbage
- red onions
- baby spinach
- acorn, butternut, and spaghetti squash

Not frozen, no longer canned... fresh, local if possible, real vegetables. I am very proud that we have started eating this way, and I'm actually quite surprised it's due to beginning a low carbohydrate diet!

One very quick meal that I rely on in the mornings is this large chocolate peanut butter breakfast smoothie. This smoothie reminds me of one of my favorite carbohydrate-filled foods: a Wendy's Frosty! It's a slightly sweet, chocolately smoothie that has the added bonus of peanut butter, which makes me one happy girl! It's fast, easy, and packs a heck of a lot of nutrition and protein in one travel cup!

Recently I've started to add a large handful of fresh baby spinach to the smoothie each morning. By doing this I'm incorporating at least one healthy serving of non-starchy vegetables to my daily diet and I love that it's simply "hidden" in the smoothie. You do not taste the spinach, although it may give a slightly green tint to your smoothie. Never fear, it will still take like a "peanut butter - chocolate" version of a Wendy's frosty!!

Enjoy!




Carrie's High-Protein Chocolate Peanut Butter Breakfast Smoothie

1 cup low carb dairy beverage (such as Hood) or soymilk, or almond milk
2-3 tablespoons natural peanut butter
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 tablespoons coconut flour (optional -- adds extra fiber, but you can leave it out without compromising the flavor of the shake!!)
2-3 tablespoons vanilla whey (or rice) protein powder
2-3 tablespoons erythritol
splash sugar-free vanilla syrup
splash sugar-free chocolate syrup
2 cups ice
(extra soymilk or almond milk -- depending on how thick you enjoy your shake)

Directions:

Pour all ingredients into blender and process on high speed for 3-5 minutes until very smooth and creamy. You can add additional milk if shake seems to thick. Feel free to toss in additional frozen fruit or greens of your choice for added nutrition.

This makes 2 medium sized smoothies, or one VERY large 3-4 cup (meal replacement) smoothie. I often have this shake for breakfast, or even for dinner if I don't have time to cook!

This smoothie contains 5-7 carbohydrates per recipe depending on the ingredients you choose to use!

Sugar Free January 2009

Hello 2009!

I don't know about you, my dear friends, but 2009 really snuck up on me. It's nearly the middle of January and I haven't posted a single recipe this year.

That will be resolved very soon.

For the past several years my husband and I have had a fast during the month of January. We slowly let go of sugar for the whole month and tried to eat as healthily as possible. To see our plan from last year, click here.

This year will be a bit different. This Ginger Lemon Girl seriously needs to get healthy. So we're cutting WAY back on sugar. I'm going to do some serious investigating of other natural sweeteners, I'm going to tweak recipes, we're going to incorporate healthy low-carb recipes into our daily lifestyle, I'm going to eat vegetables (seriously... real ones!), and I'm going to dig out the Richard Simmons videos. Stop laughing, I love Richard Simmons!

And this isn't going to end in January. You're stuck with a healthier Ginger Lemon Girl...

At least until next Thanksgiving.

Stay tuned for a delicious refined sugar-free cookie recipe coming your way! ;-)

Best wishes to you all for a Happy, Healthy 2009!!!

Crunchy Chicken Poppy Seed Casserole (Gluten Free)

One of my grandmother's favorite recipes was for a chicken casserole with ritz crackers and poppy seeds. It was a buttery and delicious casserole that called for 2 sticks of melted butter, and 2 sleeves of crushed ritz crackers... oh it was heavenly! (Not to mention completely unhealthy!)

I had sort of forgotten about that casserole until a few weeks ago when I saw some ritz crackers. I just sighed. I knew I'd probably never taste that casserole again. I just couldn't think of any way to make a gluten free version. The only gluten free crackers we eat are nut based, like Blue Diamond Almond or Pecan Nut Thins. I thought about crushing those and putting them on top of the casserole, but I didn't think that would give the casserole the texture or taste I desired.

A few weeks ago my dear friend Clara sent me some almond flour. Almond flour is simply almonds that have been ground up so they have a flour-like consistency. If they were ground any finer they would be almond butter! At any rate, Clara raved about using almond flour in her own gluten free baking and cooking. She lives close to a Trader Joe's that sells this flour for a reasonable price and offered to send me some. I had to accept.

I have done SO much baking with this amazing almond flour!! I've used it in cakes, tarts, muffins, and now for several casseroles as a crispy topping!

The naturally healthy fats that are in almonds will slightly sweeten and crisp up beautifully during baking and create a wonderfully tasty, golden crust!! They were the perfect substitute for crushed ritz crackers in this casserole.

I have made this casserole healthier by drastically cutting the salt and saturated fats called for in the original recipe. I hope you will enjoy this recipe as much as I have!

This is the perfect recipe for leftover holiday chicken and turkey! Delicious!!


Carrie's Crunchy Chicken Poppy Seed Casserole

2 cups cooked chicken or turkey, cut into bite size pieces
2 cups homemade gluten free cream soup **dairy free alternative -- see below**
1 teaspoon gluten free chicken bouillon granules
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic crushed garlic clove -or- 1 teaspoon garlic granules
4 ounces sour cream -or- **dairy free substitute -- see below**
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1 small can sliced water chestnuts, diced
1 can low-salt young peas, rinsed
1/2 cup carrots, sliced and cooked ** cooking instructions -- see below**
5 tablespoons almond flour/meal
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons poppy seeds


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Make gluten free cream soup as directed. Add 1 teaspoon of gluten free chicken bouillon, ground pepper, and a crushed garlic clove, or garlic granules. Mix sour cream into the cream soup mixture. Set aside.

Grease a 2qt (or larger) casserole dish. Place cooked chicken in the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle sliced almonds over the chicken. In a medium sized bowl mix rinsed peas, cooked carrots, water chestnuts together. Pour vegetable mixture over chicken and sliced almonds. Pour cream soup mixture over entire casserole.

Sprinkle almond flour/meal evenly over top of entire casserole. And pour melted butter over almond meal. Lastly sprinkle with poppy seeds.

Bake for 35-45 minutes until casserole is hot and bubbly! Let cool for 10 minutes before serving! We really loved this casserole!



Carrie's Notes:

** Dairy Free Substitute for sour cream: If you cannot use sour cream, use a non-dairy yogurt or thick coconut milk mixed with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. This will create the rich sour flavor that is truly unique about this casserole.

** Cooked Carrots: Simply slice fresh carrots and place in microwavable bowl with 1/2 cup of water. Cook for 5 minutes to steam carrots. Drain water from bowl and add carrots to recipe!

** For a non-dairy cream soup, simply use a non-dairy substitute for the milk. I think hemp milk would add a lovely mellow flavor to this casserole!



(Printer-friendly version)

Enjoy!!



*************




NEWS:

I will be posting the 2008 GLUTEN FREE Christmas Cookie Round up on Monday December 15th, 2008. If you have a cookie you would like added to the roundup, please email me at
gingerlemon_girl (at) yahoo (dot) com.

Happy Holidays!!

Almond Joy Impossible Pie (Gluten Free)

I've mentioned my friend Clara several times. She's a gem of a friend who shares my random sense of humor, and my new love of almond flour!

I cannot sing the praises of this wonderful, naturally gluten free flour enough. I'm tempted to turn into Elana of Elana's Pantry, who uses almond or other nut flours exclusively in her cooking and baking. She's a genius! (If only I could be that skinny!)

I decided this holiday season that I didn't want to spend so much time working on pie crusts. Don't get me wrong, I do love a good pie crust. I've even created some really tasty gluten free versions that I'm quite proud of. But they also take a lot of time and planning to prepare.

And I like easy. I'm all about easy.

In my pre-gluten-free days I often made "Impossible Pies." Basically a simple savory or sweet pie that creates it's own crust during baking. You include a small amount of flour or a baking mix like bisquick in the pie batter which rises all around the pie and voila... instant crust!

I love those kinds of pies! Last year, I created a gluten free custard pie with this concept. I loved that pie and I decided to play around with that idea and make a new pie with almond flour. And chocolate. And coconut. And that wonderful gluten free Master Baking Mix.

Do you see where I'm going with this? Yes.

An Almond Joy Pie. Oh my. This pie may not be the prettiest girl on the block, but she is absolutely one of the most delicious pies I've ever tasted!!

The almond flour and finely shredded coconut make an amazingly decedent, golden crust. The chocolate chips sink to the bottom to create the ultimate "melt-in-your-mouth" sensation.

This pie is gluten free, (can be) casein free, low in saturated fats, low in sugar, and has no added salt. Enjoy this pie without an ounce of guilt!

This is probably my favorite pie this season. I promise you'll love it!




Almond Joy Impossible Pie

Wet Ingredients:
2 eggs
3 tablespoons coconut oil or butter
1 (12 oz.) can coconut milk
1 teaspoon almond extract (**optional -- see notes**)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup turbinado sugar
**1/4 cup sugar substitute equivalent of your choice (or another 1/4 cup sugar)

Dry Ingredients:
1/4 cup GF Master Mix (or 1/4 cup gf flour of your choice with 1/4 teaspoon baking powder)
1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 cup finely shredded unsweetened coconut
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Whisk together all dry ingredients into a large bowl. Make a "well" in the center of the dry ingredients and add all wet ingredients. Whisk wet ingredients together thoroughly and whisk with dry ingredients. Pour into a greased 10" pie pan. Bake @ 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean!


Carrie's Notes:

** Sugar Substitute = I'm becoming a big fan of an all natural substitute called "Truvia" It's made from the same plant as Stevia, but it's a non-bitter formula. I have been using this the past few weeks. I will substitute up to half of the sugar in a recipe with Truvia. For this recipe, I used 6 packets of Truvia. Each packets equals the sweetness of two teaspoons of regular sugar.

**Almond extract = Clara said that she did not like the addition of almond extract to the pie, she said that it added a bit of an "alcohol" flavor... so use the almond extract with caution, or use none-at-all!


(Printer Friendly Version)

Thanksgiving Cranberry Cobbler (Gluten Free)

(This is a reprint from November 8th, 2007. This is probably my FAVORITE Thanksgiving recipe and I truly hope you will enjoy it! It's so good I had to reprint it. I buy extra cranberries and freeze them so I can make this beautiful dish year round!!)

This is one of my all-time favorite Thanksgiving side dishes! I actually make it both at Thanksgiving and at Christmas. Honestly... I could eat the whole pan myself!

I'm not sure where this recipe originated, except that one year my mom just started making it. I think she may have received the recipe from a co-worker. The recipe originally made a very moist cranberry bread and Mom altered it to make a cobbler. One year, probably when I was in college, I took over the responsibility of making it and I've done it ever since! It's incredibly easy to prepare, and it's a gorgeous dish to bring out for company.

This dish is perfectly tart and sweet at the same time! Before I was introduced to this Thanksgiving Cranberry Cobbler (which can be served as a side dish OR dessert) I did NOT like cranberries. Now they are one of my favorite foods! I could eat them all year long!

It was very simple to make this dish gluten-free. If you would like to try this recipe with wheat flour, simply replace the rice flour with all purpose wheat flour. That's it! (See, you can make it too Abby!! Give cranberries a go this year girl!!)

Gluten Free Thanksgiving Cranberry Cobbler

Created by Carrie Forbes of Gingerlemongirl.com

Free of gluten, soy, and options for dairy/casein free

Printer-friendly recipe

Cobbler Ingredients:

2 cups whole cranberries

1/2 cup granulated sugar  -or- coconut palm sugar

1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped

1/2 cup crushed pineapple with juice

2 Tbsp grated orange rind (usually from 1 med. orange)

Batter Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar -or- coconut palm sugar

3 Tbsp. melted butter -or- coconut oil

Juice from half a medium orange, freshly squeezed and strained

1 beaten egg, or two beaten egg whites

1/4 cup rice flour -or- 2 tablespoons coconut flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spritz a large pie pan or 8x8 baking dish with non-stick spray. Add cranberries, sugar (or agave nectar), chopped pecans, pineapple, and orange rind. Mix together in dish. Mix all batter ingredients together and pour over cranberry mixture. Bake for 45 minutes. Dish will be hot and bubbly. Serve hot or cold. Is excellent either as a side dish or dessert with vanilla bean ice cream! 

Pecan Pumpkin Pie Bars (Gluten Free)

Easy. Simple. Delicious.

If you need something super easy for your gluten free Thanksgiving dinner, but don't want to add too many extra pounds, these delicious bars are the way to go.

These simple bars will put a smile on your face! No need for a complicated recipe or expensive ingredients. Just plain easy, delicious, and gluten free! I promise these bars will even please your gluten-eating family members!!

The bars have a "cookie/granola" like crust made from a few simple ingredients, then a basic pumpkin pie filling, and topped with pecans and sugar.

This would be delicious with a scoop of ice-cream or whipped cream! The best part is you don't have to worry about a time-consuming gluten free pie crust!! This dessert is low in fat, low in sugar, no added salt, and gluten free!

**Also, to make this casein free, simply use coconut oil instead of butter, and use coconut milk in place of the regular milk called for! Easy peasy!!





Carrie's Pecan Pumpkin Pie Bars
free of gluten, soy, and options for dairy-free
created by Carrie of Gingerlemongirl.com
Printer-friendly recipe.

Crust:
1/2 cup almond flour
**1/2 cup Carrie's Master Baking Mix (or other GF baking mix)
1/2 cup gluten free old fashioned oats or flaked quinoa
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 cup softened butter -or- heart healthy margarine -or- coconut oil

Filling:
1/2 cup turbinado sugar (or regular sugar)
2 cups pure pumpkin puree
1 cup skim milk -or- evaporated milk -or- coconut milk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Topping:
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1/4 cup turbinado sugar (or regular sugar)

Whipped Cream or Ice Cream

Directions:

For Crust: Combine all crust ingredients until mixture is crumbly. (This took several minutes using a fork to combine until crumbly.) Press mixture into a greased 13x9" baking pan.

For Filling: Combine all filling ingredients into a large bowl and whisk together until thoroughly combined. Pour pumpkin pie filling over crust.

For Topping: Combine chopped pecans and sugar in a small bowl. Sprinkle pecan topping over pumpkin pie filling.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center of the bars comes out clean.

Let cool completely before cutting. Makes 16 pecan pumpkin pie bars! Top with whipped cream or ice cream and enjoy!!


** If you do not have any of my Gluten Free Master Baking Mix for the crust handy, simply use 1/4 cup brown rice flour, 1/4 cup tapioca starch, and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda.

Happy Thanksgiving!!