Tag Archives: sugarfree

Pumpkin Pie with Pears with Cranberries (vegan & gluten free)

This is my third Thanksgiving since I have been gluten-free, dairy-free and egg-free. The first year, I didn’t have any pie or dessert. It was so sad, and I swore I wouldn’t be deprived again!

Last year I played around with getting the pumpkin right. Making a pumpkin pie that is firm without eggs, took a bit of experimenting. This year, I was inspired by a bag of ripe pears that I had on my counter, so I decided to make a topping. The juicy pears add an extra natural sweetness to balance a tartness from the cranberries; both blend well with the spices and traditional pumpkin flavors.

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pumpkin pie cranberries and pears cover

Pumpkin Pie with Pears and Cranberries

  • Servings: two 9-inch pies
  • Difficulty: easy
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This Pumpkin Pie has a pear and cranberry topping. The juicy pears add an extra natural sweetness to balance the tartness from the cranberries.

Tips: If you do not have a Wholly Gluten Free Pie Crust available near you, you can make a crust from scratch. Click here for a gluten-free and vegan recipe.

Credit: My Real Dish

Ingredients

Pie Filling

  • 4 cups puréed pumpkin (or 1 can of pumpkin purée)
  • 1 can coconut milk
  • 1/4 cup non-dairy milk
  • 1 1/4 cup coconut sugar
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon clove
  • 1/2 teaspoon allspice
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin spice
  • 1/4 teaspoon real salt
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch

For pear and cranberry topping

  • 8 small pears peeled and sliced
  • 1 cup cranberries
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup

Optional: 2 Gluten Free and Vegan pie shells (I used Wholly Gluten-Free)


Directions

  1. Take pie crusts out of the freezer.
  2. Heat oven to 375
  3. Add pumpkin, coconut milk, non-dairy milk, maple syrup, coconut sugar, cinnamon, allspice, and clove into the mixer. Blend until smooth.
  4. Add real salt and cornstarch to the pie and mix with mixer until fully combined
  5. Add filling to pie crust and bake for 50 – 60 minutes or until the filling is set.
  6. Prepare the topping. Peel and slice pears.
  7. Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Lightly spray the pan with olive oil or coconut oil. I used a non-stick Zyliss frying pan with olive oil.
  8. Sauté until slightly tender and place on top of the cooked pie.
  9. Sprinkle with cinnamon.
  10. Serve warm or cold. If warm, let the pie cool for 30 minutes on the counter. If served cold, let the pie cool in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. I found that it was a perfect firmness and texture after it remained in the refrigerator overnight.

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susanellenlogoweb

Red, White, & Blue Cake (Vegan & Gluten-free)

This cake is vegan, gluten-free, refined-sugar free, beautiful, and is a crowd pleaser at a 4th of July party with its patriotic theme. No one else at the party was vegan or gluten-free, and everyone enjoyed it. This is not a light and fluffly cake, but a dense fruit one. The fruit gives it sweetness. Keep it refrigerated after icing in order to keep the texture and whipped-topping firm.

I was a little disappointed with the lack of color that came from the cake when I cooked it. I was hoping for red and blue cakes! I used Watkins Food Coloing (100% natural vegetable juices and spices). I guess you have to use good old-fashion food-dyes to get the color you want, not the healthier vegetable based ones and fruit.

So here’s my take on it – the cake is a little labor intensive with washing the containers to make the red and blue cake, but healthy and yummy. That said, I have recreated it easily with my Perfect Paleo Brownies in a snap; equally beautiful and so much less time-consuming. The brownies make it a little sweeter, and personally I’m a huge chocolate lover. However, both are great – it’s just a matter of how much time you have!

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4th of July Pinterest

Red, White, & Blue Cake (Vegan & Gluten-free)

  • Servings: 12
  • Difficulty: medium
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A patriotic inspired cake with coconut whipped topping, blueberries, and strawberries. It is gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and vegan.

Credit: myrealdish.com

Ingredients

Whipped Topping

Cake

  • 2 cups coconut sugar
  • 2 sticks of vegan butter (I used Earth Balance Soy Free)
  • Egg replacer for 2 eggs (3 teaspoons Ener-G + 4 tablespoons warm water)
  • 2 tablespoons (1 mini-bottle) of gluten-free blue food coloring (vegetable based)
  • 2 tablespoons (1 mini-bottle) of gluten-free red food coloring (vegetable based)
  • 2 1/2 cups Namaste Gluten Free Perfect Flour Blend 
  • 1 teaspoon salt (I used Redmond Real Salt)
  • 1 cup almond milk (I used Unsweetened Original Almond Breeze)
  • 1 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 tablespoon white vinegar
  • 1 ¼ cup blueberries
  • 3/4 tablespoon cocoa powder
  • 1 cup frozen cherries

Decoration

  • 1 pint blueberries
  • 1 pint strawberries

Directions

  1. Heat water in a tea kettle for egg replacer
  2. Purée with a Vitamix or high-powered blender blueberries (I used fresh), and set aside in a bowl. Rinse out the Vitamix or blender.
  3. Purée frozen cherries and set aside.
  4. Heat oven to 350 degrees
  5. Prepare egg replacer (combine 3 teaspoons Ener-G and 4 tablespoons warm water)
  6. Cream coconut sugar and vegan butter in a mixer. Slowly add the egg replacer continuously until the mixture is light and fluffy.
  7. Combine Namaste Gluten Free Perfect Flour Blend and Redmond Real Salt together in a separate bowl.
  8. Add dry mixture to the coconut sugar and vegan butter mixture alternating with the Unsweetened Original Almond Breeze.
  9. Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
  10. Grease two 8-inch cake pans. Line bottom of cake pans with fitted parchment paper rounds and grease top of parchment paper.
  11. Pour half of the batter to a separate bowl and set aside.
  12. In a smaller bowl mix 3/4 tablespoon cocoa powder and blue food coloring together (mine didn’t mix throughly) add to the mixer bowl of cake batter. Add puréed blueberries and mix with mixer.
  13. Combine 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda and 1/2 tablespoon vinegar in a smaller bowl, then add to the blue cake mixture. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix one last time.
  14. Add blue cake mixture to one 8-inch cake pan.
  15. Begin the second half of the cake with cherries and red food coloring. Add the container of red food coloring to the mixer bowl of cake batter along with puréed cherries and mix with mixer.
  16. Combine 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda and 1/2 tablespoon vinegar in a smaller bowl, then add to the blue cake mixture. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix one last time.
  17. Pour the red cake batter into the 2nd 8-inch cake pan.
  18. Bake for 30 – 40 minutes (My red cherry cake took 30 minutes and the blueberry one took 40 minutes. Check often that the toothpick comes clean in the middle).
  19. Set cakes on the wire rack to cool completely ~45 minutes.
  20. Wash and dry strawberries and blueberries (I use Thieves Fruit and Veggie Soak because it cleans well, it’s natural and chemical-free; buy it here).
  21. Slice strawberries. It’s best to select berries of similar sizes to make them fit in the design.
  22. After cake cools, prepare coconut cream topping. Keep coconut milk cans in the fridge until you are ready to make the topping. Prepare it immediately before “icing” the cake.
  23. Scoop out the thick cream from the coconut cream or milk. Leaving the remaining water below.
  24. Add the guar gum, vanilla, and Powdered Xylitol. Mix on high-speed. Slowly add coconut water from the can, 1 tablespoon at a time, to the cream as it whips until it is light and fluffy.
  25. Carefully remove one cake from the cake pan, and place it on a cake stand or large serving platter.
  26. Spread coconut cream with a rubber scraper on the top of the cake.
  27. Remove the other cake from the cake pan, placing it on top of the coconut whipped cream.
  28. Spread the coconut whipped topping on the top and sides of the cake until it is fully covered and appears to be “iced”.
  29. Decorate the top of your cake with blueberries and strawberries. I easily created the blueberry design by connecting these two lines to a point with blueberries and symmetrically filling them in.
  30. Slice and serve.

I served mine by the pool!

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Happy 4th of July!

susanellenlogoweb

Mayan Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding (Vegan & Gluten-Free)

I had never made Chia Pudding. So when I was considering the flavor that I wanted to make – I had a flashback to one of the best coffees that I have ever had at Coffee & Art in San Diego; it was called a Mayan Mocha. This special coffee inspired this dish, and I wish that this chia seed pudding could bring the beach and perfect weather with it. Anyway, you will savor the flavors of cacao, agave, cinnamon, vanilla, and coconut cream in this pudding – it’s just a special combination.Chia Seed Pudding

  • Servings: 3
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This Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding is a healthy, easy, delicious, gluten-free, and vegan dessert or breakfast.


Credit: myrealdish.com

Ingredients

  • 1 can or 2 cups of full fat coconut milk (I used Thai Kitchen)
  • 1/2 cup chia seeds
  • 1/4 cacao powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup Blue Agave Syrup 
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder


Directions

  1. Put all ingredients into your Vitamix or blender in order to make it smooth.
  2. Stir in your chia seeds.
  3. Put in a container and refrigerate overnight or for at least 4 hours.
  4. Optional: top with a coconut whipped topping (you can find my recipe here) and drizzle with the Best Vegan Chocolate Sauce.
  5. Makes a great breakfast or dessert.


Protein Loaded Pizza Sauce

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We love pizza, but finding gluten and dairy-free pizza in a restaurant is hard. So we make “pizza night” into a fun activity to do with the kids! It’s great, until my daughter has a breakdown after she slops the sauce onto the edge of the crust or doesn’t spread the cheese evenly (I keep my Tranquil Roll-On handy with this child at all times). Sometimes she complains that sauce is too spicey too. So, I set out to make my own. I found a recipe on food.com that included fennel seed, and I changed it a lot. I hate that most sauces have cane sugar and parmesean cheese. If I’m going to have cane sugar, it better be a very tasty dessert – preferably with chocolate.

I’m always trying to find more ways to increase protein in our diet. I was at Fresh Thyme looking for Baking Powder, and I came across Bob’s Red Mill High Protein TVP (textured vegetable protein). The bag says “it takes on the flavor of whatever recipe to which it is added.” I thought it would be great not only for the pizza sauce I was making, but also chili and soups. The sauce turned out great, and you wouldn’t know that I added anything to the sauce by the taste. It does have soy; if you have a soy allergy, make the pizza sauce without it!

This recipe makes 4 small gluten-free pizzas, and I tripled it in order to make 4 small gluten-free pizzas, and an eggplant pizza bake. I love it when I can to turn one dish into two for multiple nights! Plus, it’s always convenient to make extra sauce and have it ready in the freezer!

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons organic olive oil
  • ½  cup shallots finely chopped
  • ¼ cup celery (~1 stick) finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 1 (14.5 ounce) can organic tomato sauce (I used Kirkland brand from Costco)
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • ½ teaspoon Redmond’s Real Salt
  • ½ teaspoon coconut sugar
  • ¼  teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 small bay leaf
  • 1 teaspoon fennel seed
  • 1/3 cup Bob’s Red Mill High Protein TVP (textured vegetable protein) (optional)

 

Directions

  1. If you are going to include Bob’s Red Mill High Protein TVP, boil the water. Add a little less than ⅓ cup of boiled water over ⅓ cup of protein. The bag recommends 1 cup protein to ⅞ cup water, so that’s how I did the math as best as I could. Set the protein mixture aside and let it set for 10 minutes.img_0779
  2. Finely chop shallots and celery (I sliced the celery stick into 4 tiny strips and then chopped it).img_0778 
  3. Smash your garlic with the flat part of your knife and then mince.
  4. Sauté veggies in a large skillet until very tender and almost translucent.
  5. Add all remaining ingredients and let simmer for 30 – 60 minutes.
  6. Get your pizza ready!!!img_0804

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