Blueberry Muffins

Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins

I'm back! Well I didn't really go anywhere, but I haven't posted a recipe in almost a month... not sure how that happened. Must be the combination of the beautiful weather distractions, working on our new house, and actually working lately. Since my hubby is a teacher and I'm an EA, the end of the school year means we have more time to work on the yard and house... and hopefully time keep up on the blogging:)

We are loving our little house. It feels so good to be able to work on improving something that's our own. So far, we've removed the gravel, reseeded the left side, moved the garden, pushed back the fence, levelled the ground and added some extra nutrient rich soil. We still need to move the composter and plant the grass.

Before

Before

After

Yesterday was our 2 year anniversary. We celebrated by making BBQ steak and artichokes with homemade blueberry Italian sodas and blueberry mini cheesecakes. Delicious! I love blueberry season. I will be posting the cheesecake recipe another day, but today I want to focus on a recipe for blueberry muffins.

But first a little look at our anniversary dinner:)

mmm... smashed potatoes, steak and artichokes

Blueberry Italian Sodas

Mini Blueberry Cheesecakes

Ok so now that you're drooling, I'll get on to the feature recipe: Blueberry Muffins

(makes 14-16 muffins)
Ingredients

2 cups GF Flour (Use All-Purpose Flour Blend)
1/4 tsp Salt
1 Tbsp Baking Powder
3/4 cup Sugar (or less if desired)
1/3 cup Margarine
3 Eggs
2/3 cup Milk
1 - 1 1/2 cups Blueberries (fresh or frozen)
2 tsp Orange Zest (or lemon zest)
1 tsp Vanilla

Directions

Combine Dry ingredients in a large bowl.
In a smaller bowl, combine wet ingredients (not blueberries)
Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix until just combined.
Fold in blueberries.
Pour batter into prepared muffin tins.
Bake at 375 for 20-25 mins.
Cool on rack.
Once cool these muffins should be frozen to retain texture. I use a ziplock freezer bag.

before baking

after baking

Cool on a rack

Once completely cool, freeze

King Arthur Flour GF Yellow Cake Mix Review

KAF gluten free yellow cake mix

 We just finished moving in to our new house! As a house warming gift, my husband got me something I've been wanting for years... a Kitchen Aid mixer!! I got to test it out with a new mix that King Arthur Flour sent me to review: Gluten Free Yellow Cake mix. It worked like a dream... and the final product tasted like a dream.

My new Kitchen Aid in the background

I served it to my family (including gluten eaters) for a mother's day/father's day get together. Everyone loved it (the six of us almost finished the whole thing). As you can see, I made the cake version, but you can also make cupcakes from the mix. I have found that GF cake tends to be more finicky than cupcakes, but this cake was really easy to make and didn't fall at all.  I topped it with whipped cream and berries and it not only tasted, but looked amazing!

mmm... berries and whipped cream

 I've reviewed some King Arthur Flour GF mixes previously (view here), and have been very impressed with their products. This mix did not disappoint! I just wish these mixes were sold in Canada. Of course you can get them online ($6.95), but the shipping cost kind of blows my budget.

Just out of the oven

Additional ingredients were 1/2 cup butter (I used margarine with great results), 2 Tbsp vegetable oil, 4 eggs, and 2/3 cup milk. That seems like a lot of eggs, but I know they help to hold gluten free baking together, so I'm not surprised. The texture was moist and spongy. The taste was sweet with the flavour of vanilla. Just what I'm looking for in a good yellow cake.

Rating:

Cost       3 stars

Taste      4.5 stars

Texture  4.5 stars

Overall Rating: 4 stars


 

Thanks King Arthur Flour for providing me with these mixes. All opinions are my own.

Cranberry Apple Coffee Cake

Gluten Free Cranberry Apple Coffee Cake

It is so satisfying to make a successful gluten free cake. Anyone who's experimented with GF baking knows that. I can't even count how many times I've optimistically slid a seemingly perfect GF cake into the oven, only to pull out a rubbery, half burnt/half raw cake with a 6 inch crater in the centre 45 minutes later. How Annoying! Nowadays, there's all kinds of GF cake mixes on the market, and if you're willing to pay $6 for a mix, you can probably expect decent results (although I haven't tried most of those mixes, I'm assuming they don't suck... otherwise they wouldn't sell, right?). For those of you who'd rather not buy the processed, and rather expensive, mixes, try this recipe. Yes, it's coffee cake... but it's cake and it's gluten free, so no complaining!

This version is actually pretty healthy with apples and cranberry sauce. I sometimes even eat it for breakfast (my husband is horrified... cake for breakfast!). You could easily add extra sugar, chocolate chips, cocoa powder, or icing to make it more of a traditional cake. Or instead of apples and cranberry sauce, add your favourite fruit (blueberries, raspberries, pear slices, etc). Feel free to try another one of my versions: Ginger Peach Coffee Cake.

Make sure to bake this cake until the centre feels firm. The edges will be dark, but not burnt. Otherwise your cake will have a rubbery 6 inch crater in the middle...

(makes 9x9 baking dish)
Ingredients

1 1/3 cup Light Flour Blend (see flour blends)
3/4 cup Sugar (or less if you prefer)
2 Tbsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 cup Oil
2 Eggs
1/2 cup Milk
1 tsp Vanilla (optional)
3/4 tsp Cinnamon
2  Peeled and Sliced Apples (med sized)
1/2 cup Cranberry Sauce (I make homemade sauce when cranberries are cheap and freeze it... it's really easy)
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp Cinnamon

Directions

Stir together all dry ingredients.
Beat eggs with milk and add, along with the rest of the wet ingredients, to the dry ingredients.
Pour into greased 9x9 baking dish.
Press slices of apples into batter (about 1/2 inch apart).
Spread cranberry sauce over the top (Doesn't need to cover the entire cake. It will sink in somewhat)
Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon on top.
Bake at 350 F for 45-50 mins (until very brown but not burning). The centre should be firm to the touch.
Let cool and cut into 9 square pieces.

Press apple slices into batter

Spread cranberry sauce over the top (you don't need quite this much... I just used all of my leftovers)

Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes

Serve with coffee for breakfast, dessert, or an afternoon snack!

Enjoy Life Chewy Bars Review

I recieved some of Enjoy Life's newly designed Chewy Bars to review. Since I started working again last week, and the school is a nut free zone, I was excited to have some nut and gluten free snacks to bring in my lunches. I had a chance to try all 4 of their flavours, Cocoa Loco, Caramel Apple, Sunbutter Crunch and Very Berry. They made great, filling snacks and were only 110 calories each (excluding the sunbutter variety which was 120 calories). At $4.29 for a box of 5 bars, they are not cheap, but compared to other allergy friendly granola bars, they were reasonable.

Enjoy Life Chewy Bars: Caramel Apple and Very Berry

Enjoy Life Chewy Bars: Sunbutter Crunch and Cocoa Loco

Cocoa Loco


This was definitely my favorite flavour! They tasted like brownies, but still had 2 grams of fibre, 2 grams of protein, 3.5 grams of fat and only 110 calories. Also, 1 bar contains 10% of required daily iron. I would buy this variety again for a snack or even dessert.

Health       4 stars
Cost          3 stars
Taste         4.5 stars
Texture     4 stars

Overall Rating:  3.9 stars

 

 

Caramel Apple

 

The Caramel Apple Flavour was probably my second favorite. I liked the flavour of the bar and the fact that there were small chunks of dried apple in it. One thing I didn't enjoy is the small hard pieces in each of the last 3 flavours. I'm not sure what they are, but I found it to be hard on my teeth.

The caramel apple bar has 3 grams of fat, 2 of fibre and 1 gram of protein.

 

Health       4 stars
Cost           3 stars
Taste         4 stars
Texture     2 stars

Overall Rating: 3.25 stars

  

 

Sunbutter Crunch

 

This flavour was also enjoyable, but had the same issue with texture. I liked that it had a peanut buttery taste, but was made with sunflower seeds instead (making it safe for those with nut allergies). The sunbutter gave it a slightly higher fat and calorie content (4 grams fat and 120 calories), but I don't mind a little extra healthy fat. Each bar also contained 2 grams of fibre and 2 of protein.

 

Health      4 stars
Cost         3 stars
Taste        4 stars
Texture    2 stars

Overall Rating: 3.25 stars

 

 

Very Berry

 

This flavour was my least favorite, simply because of the taste. I didn't enjoy the berry flavour, even though I like berries (and the flavour was natural). It reminded me of a nutrigrain bar which, although I haven't had one in many years (ahem, gluten), I remember disliking as a child. I also didn't enjoy the texture with the small, hard pieces mixed in. Each bar contained 2.5 grams of fat, 2 grams of fibre and 1 gram of protein.

 

Health      4 stars
Cost         3 stars
Taste        1 stars
Texture    2 stars

Overall Rating:  2.5 stars

 

 

Thanks Enjoy Life Foods for providing these free samples for me to review. All opinions are my own

 

Granola Cookies

Gluten Free Granola Cookies

I found this recipe on pinterest the other day and just had to try it. I love that there is no sugar or sugar substitute, but it's still sweet from the mashed bananas. I made a few minor changes, but the idea is the same. This blogger called them breakfast cookies, but I decided to call them granola cookies because they are very similar to granola bars, only in cookie form. They do make a great (and healthy) breakfast on the go, and I'm sure kids would be ecstatic to have cookies for breakfast! With all the protein and fibre, they are a satisfying breakfast or snack for anyone.

(makes about 2 dozen small cookies)
Ingredients

3 Medium Mashed Bananas
1/4 cup Canola Oil
1 Egg (may be omitted)
1 tsp Vanilla

1 1/2 cups GF Oats (I used quick oats but rolled would work too)
1/2 cup Dried Coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
1/2 - 3/4 cup Dried Fruit (raisins, craisins, apricots, etc)
1/2 cup Chopped Nuts
1/4 tsp Salt
11/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Nutmeg


Directions

Combine wet ingredients in a large bowl.
Add dry ingredients to bowl and mix thoroughly
Drop spoonfuls of mixture on parchment lined baking sheet and form into desired shape.
Bake at 350 for 15-20 mins until they just begin to brown.
Store any left over cookies in freezer.

Before Baking (line with parchment - unlike me)

After Baking

Granola Bars

Gluten Free Granola Bars

I love granola bars, but not many are gluten free, and the ones that are cost way too much! I love the idea of making your own. You can customise the add ins to suit your tastes or allergies. It's also much easier to avoid the added preservatives that are in most store bought granola bars. As always, make sure your oats are wheat free!

This recipe is adapted from the Looneyspoons cookbook by Janet and Greta Podleski.

makes 15-20 bars
Ingredients

2 1/2 cups GF Quick Cooking Oats
1/2 cup Coconut Flakes (sweetened or unsweetened)
1/2 cup Chopped Nuts or Seeds (Almonds, Pecans, Cashews, Pumpkin Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, etc)
1/2 cup Dried Fruit (Craisins, Apricots, Raisins, Blueberries, etc)
1/3 cup Oat Flour (grind GF oats in coffee grinder)
1/4 cup Ground Flax Seed
1 tsp Cinnamon or Pumpkin Pie Spice
1/2 tsp Salt
3/4 cup Pumpkin Puree (canned or home made) (or 3/4 cup mashed bananas)
1/2 cup Liquid Honey
1/4 cup Canola Oil, Melted Butter/Margarine, or Melted Coconut Oil
1 tsp Vanilla Extract


Directions

Stir together dry ingredients.
In a smaller bowl, mix together pumpkin puree (or banana), honey, oil and vanilla.
Add wet ingredients to dry and mix well.
Line 9x13 baking dish (or baking pan) with parchment paper and pour in mixture. Press evenly into pan.
Bake at 350 for about 25 mins (until top begins to brown).
Let cool in pan, then transfer to cutting board and cut into granola bar shapes.
Wrap individually in plastic wrap and freeze.

Note: For nut free (and school friendly) granola bars, use sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds only. For the granola bars pictured, I used 1 bag of Enjoy Life Not Nuts seed and fruit mix in place of the nuts and dried fruit.

Dry ingredients

Granola Bar Mixture

Press mixture into baking pan

Bake until golden brown 

Let cool and cut into granola bar shapes

Mmmm...

Great for snacks or lunch on the go!

Enjoy Life Not Nuts Seed and Fruit Mix Review

ELF not nuts Seed and Fruit Mix

A little while ago I received 2 bags of the not nuts seed and fruit mix from Enjoy Life Foods to review. As always with Enjoy Life products, this seed and fruit mix is free of the most common allergens, including wheat/gluten. I had the opportunity to test the Beach Bash flavour (with sunflower kernels, pineapple, pumpkin seeds, cranberries and apricots) as well as the Mountain Mambo variety (containing sunflower kernels, pumpkin seeds, raisins, apples, chocolate chips and cranberries).

Although I am able to eat nuts, many people have a very serious nut allergy, and it's nice to see Enjoy Life Foods providing nut alternatives. Because nut allergies are so prevalent, most schools (at least in Saskatoon) are nut free zones. My husband is a teacher, so it's nice to have nut free snacks he can take in his lunch.

Gluten Free Granola Bars made with ELF Seed and Fruit Mix

I made some homemade nut free granola bars using the Beach Bash seed and fruit mix for snacks and lunches on the go. Instead of adding the dried fruit and nuts called for in the recipe, I just dumped the entire bag of seeds and fruit (1 cup worth) into my mixture. They turned out great and I will be posting the recipe shortly.

If I had to choose a favourite, I guess I would have to go with the Mountain Mambo (because of the chocolate chips:) ), but I also really liked the dried pineapple in the Beach Bash flavour. They are both winners in my opinion. The texture was great, with the crunchy seeds and chewy fruit. I found the mixture to be a little too salty, but I know some people like their trail mix salty. To each his own. The price on their website is 4.29 for a 170 g bag of seed and fruit mix. I find this to be a little on the expensive side, but it is an easy, healthy and mobile snack.

Health      5 stars

Cost         2.5 stars

Taste        3.5 stars

Texture    4.5 stars

Overall Rating:  3.9 Stars

Thanks Enjoy Life Foods for providing these free samples for me to review. All opinions are my own.