My Favorite Experts’ Recipes
Enjoy these links to my favorite experts’ healthy recipes. They have the best advice and offer a variety of options. Great ideas for a healthy lifestyle.
- PCRM Good Nutrition
- PCRM 21-day Vegan Kickstart Sign up online for free or download the app.
- Paddison Program No Oil Salad Dressing
- High Carb Health Recipes
- Finding Your pH Balance Alkaline Recipes
- Wahls Protocol Recipes
Fruit & Greens Smoothie
This simple recipe starts with fresh, sweet organic greens, i.e., spinach, kale, or spring mix, (not spicy greens like arugula). Sweet greens also include bok choy, pea shoots, and swiss chard. Start with a handful of greens, and work your way up to half greens or more. Then add fruit and water. Use fresh fruits in season. Freeze overripe fruit, like bananas. They are extra sweet and perfect in smoothies.
Pro tip – fill a freezer bag with a variety of organic fruits. Good options are apples quartered with peel, blueberries, cherries, dates, kiwis, strawberries, mangos, nectarines, oranges, and peaches.
My naturopathic doctor recommends replacing water with nettle tea, it is mineralizing. Another great recommendation is to add grass-fed collagen powder.
Gluten and Dairy Free Desserts
Enjoy my favorite gluten and dairy free desserts. I updated old-fashioned recipes with neutral sugars and high quality fats. See egg free options too. (My husband is allergic to eggs.)
Fats for Baking
These recipes are flexible. When recipes call for lard, use your favorite choice of fat. I prefer grass-fed lard. (Fatworks’ Organic Leaf Lard is my favorite for baking. It’s mild and no strong pork flavor.) For vegan desserts, I use organic raw coconut butter made from whole coconut purée. (Artisana is a brand I like.) I do not use ghee, per my naturopath’s recommendations to avoid dairy. Even though ghee is lactose free, it is a dairy product.
Neutral Sugars for Fruit Desserts
Naturopaths advise neutral sugars can be combined with fruits. Neutral sugars are maple syrup, honey, coconut sugar, and date sugar. Do not bake with honey.
NaNa’s Pumpkin Pie
Everyone loves my grandmother’s pie recipe. My version is dairy, fruit, and gluten free, and egg optional.
See how I make pie kits in the Fall.
Prepare Pie Kits Ahead and Freeze
In the fall, I take a day to process pumpkin pie kits and freeze them. Pennsylvania Dutch Crookneck squash is my favorite for pumpkin pie. I also love using sweet pie pumpkins. I always use sweet potatoes too. This recipe is easier if you have pie kits already made.
Cut pumpkin in half and clean out seeds. Scrub sweet potatoes. Bake 350ºF for 1 hr until tender when pricked with a fork. Bake 20-30 minutes longer until done if needed.
Cool, peel, and purée in food process or blender. Add some almond milk as needed. In a large freezer bag, add two cups pumpkin and three cups sweet potatoes (or five cups of your favorite combo). Makes two pie kits.
At pie time, Thaw pie kits
In a mixing bowl combine:
-2 cups purée pumpkin
-3 cups purée sweet potato
-1/4 cup melted lard
-1 cup maple syrup (or your favorite sugar)
-5 eggs separated. Beat egg whites separately and fold in last. (For egg substitute use 1 1/4 cups of silken tofu, process in blender with almond milk to make creamy. Eggs can be omitted, this pie is very flexible.)
-1 cup almond milk
-1 tsp each allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom, vanilla, and salt
Mix well, fold in egg whites last. Pour into unbaked oat flour pie dough. See pie dough recipe below.
Bake at 350ºF for 45-55 minutes.
Makes two pies.
MeMe’s Rhubarb Tart
In Spring we enjoy rhubarb tart. This simple recipe is very food intolerant friendly. It is gluten, dairy, and fruit free. Rhubarb is a vegetable.
Rhubarb sauce is great as a side dish. I like to use it as a topping for desserts, like carrot-ginger cake or almond yogurt.
In a medium sauce pan on low heat, combine:
–5 cups rhubarb cut into bite-sized pieces (approx. 1 lb.)
Cover and cook until rhubarb is hot and releases liquid. Remove cover and remove a small amount of liquid and mix with 1/4 tsp corn starch until dissolved. Return mixture and stir. Keep pan uncovered and continue cooking until it thickens like a sauce.
Remove rhubarb sauce from heat, add:
-3/4 cup maple syrup (or your favorite sugar)
-1/2 tsp each of nutmeg, cinnamon, and cardamom
-pinch of salt
Rhubarb is very tart, sweeten to taste, we like it slightly tart.
Pour into unbaked almond tart shell, or unbaked oat dough, see recipes below.
Bake at 350ºF for 30-40 minutes.
Makes one 10” tart.
Simple Pear Tart
When pears are in season, this is an easy dessert to make. The key is ripe pears requiring only 6 TBSP of maple syrup for the whole tart.
Note: ripe pears can be stored in the refrigerator for up to three days.
Prepare tart pan with unbaked oat dough
Sliced 4 pears into tart
Mix 1/3 cup maple syrup with spices, drizzle on top
-1 tsp of nutmeg
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1 tsp cardamom
-1/2 tsp ginger
-1 tsp vanilla
Bake 20 minutes, rotate and baste. Bake another 20 minutes.
Makes 1 10” tart
Rustic Sour Cherry Tart
In June we harvest and freeze sour cherries. This cherry tart is sweetened with a fruit sugar, but still tart. I prefer using fruit sugars with fruit tarts.
In large pot on low heat add:
– 5 cups frozen sour cherries
– 1/2 cup maple syrup
-2 TBSP corn starch
Cook cherries and fruit sugar until liquid are released. Add corn starch, sifting in one tablespoon at ant time. Continue cooking until sauce is thick. Gently stir by shaking pot and rolling cherries to maintain whole cherries.
Place cooked cherries in unbaked tart shell or unbaked oat flour dough.
Bake 350ºF for 25 minutes, rotating half way through.
Makes 1 pie.
Almond Tart Crust
In mixing bowl combine:
-2 cups almond flour
-2 TBSP melted lard or raw coconut butter
-2 TBSP neutral sugar or maple syrup (optional)
-pinch of salt
Use fork and mix well. Grease and line tart pan with parchment paper. Press dough into tart pan.
Makes 10” tart shell.
Oat Flour Pie Dough
I adapted Martha’s Stewart’s pate brisee recipe to be gluten and dairy free. I prefer making a large quantity and this makes two 8-10 inch pie crusts. With a food processor, it is fast and easy to make. I love the flavor a high quality lard gives to pie crust. Or go vegan and use raw coconut butter. The crust is actually flaky. Freeze extra dough.
In food processor:
Pulse these ingredients a couple of seconds
-3 3/4 cups oat flour (gluten free)
-1 1/2 tsp salt
-2 tsp coconut sugar, date sugar, or maple syrup (Or don’t use sugar; replace with fat)
Add fat, and process for 10 seconds
-3/4 cup lard chilled
OR – 1 cup raw coconut butter (For ease in handling, warm in pan of hot water on stove.)
Add ice water in slow stream, process for 30 seconds
1 – 1 1/2 cups ice water or more as needed. Oat flour is thirsty
Continue adding water until a large ball is formed.
Remove dough and divide into three flat round disks. Chill or freeze.
At pie time, roll dough and use a large spatula, or the bottom of a tart pan, to aid in the transfer.
For pre-baked pie shell, bake 350ºF for 10 minutes.
Makes 3 pie crusts.
Notes: pie crusts made with raw coconut butter need to be served at room temperature. The coconut butter makes the cold crust tough.
Carrot-Ginger Cake
This cake is so moist, it doesn’t require icing. Dairy, fruit, and gluten free. Adapted from Martha Stewart’s recipe, see her original recipe and demo video.
In large mixing bowl, whisk until well combined
-1 cup fresh grated carrots (3 medium carrots)
-2 tsp fresh grated ginger
-1/2 cup maple syrup (or your favorite sugar)
-1 egg yolk (beat white separately and fold in last) (Or replace with 3 TBSP almond yogurt)
-3/4 cup almond milk
-1 tsp vanilla extract
In another bowl, sift together dry ingredients
-1 1/2 cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour
-1 TBSP flaxseed meal (optional)
-2 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp each cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom
Melt Fat
-1/4 cup lard or raw coconut butter
Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Grease pan, line with parchment paper. Then dust with flour, tap out excess. Use a 8 x 2-inch pan for one layer cake or 10 cupcakes.
Using a rubber spatula, fold the flour mixture into the carrot mixture until combined. Fold in melted fat. Fold in egg whites last. Pour into pan and tap out air bubbles. Bake at 375ºF for 45 minutes. Rotate pan halfway through. Bake until the tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Remove cake from the pan and cool, top-side up.
Makes 1 layer.
Chocolate Peppermint Cake
This cake is vegan, dairy, gluten, egg, and fruit free and great for many with these intolerances. Delicious, almost healthy, with 1 cup carrots and only 1/2 cup maple syrup.
In blender, grate carrots first, then blend together
-1 cup fresh grated carrots (3 medium carrots)
-1/2 cup maple syrup (or your favorite sugar)
-3/4 cup almond milk
-1 tsp vanilla extract
Mix together first, then gently blend
-1/2 cup almond yogurt
-2 drops peppermint oil
-2.5 TBSP cocoa powder
In another bowl, sift together dry ingredients
-1 1/2 cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour
-2 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp salt
Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Grease pan, line with parchment paper. Then dust with flour, tap out excess. Use a 8 x 2-inch pan for one layer cake or 10 cupcakes.
Using a rubber spatula, fold the flour mixture into the blended mixture until combined. Pour into pan and tap out air bubbles. Bake at 375ºF for 45 minutes. Rotate pan halfway through. Bake until the tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Remove cake from the pan and cool, top-side up.
Peppermint Chocolate Icing: Shave 1/2 bar of 85% chocolate on top of warm cake. Sprinkle with crushed peppermint candy.
Makes 1 layer.
While indulging, take an opportunity to learn more about this passion project and me.
Namaste,
Diane
Diane@GutHeal.net