Beefy Smoked Paprika Lentil Soup

For the best flavor,  save some cooked beef bones or start with raw soup bones by roasting them in the oven. Remove the marrow if desired (It tends to make soup a bit greasy for my taste,  and I save it to spread on toast instead of butter). Cover the bones with water (I think I put in about 16 cups of water), add a small splash of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice,  and simmer them in a large pot with a clove or two of garlic (I threw in a whole,  uncut peeled clove of garlic). Let these cook as long as you like to give the broth flavor and draw the minerals into the broth from the bones--I let them cook for an hour or two this time,  but if you're not highly sensitive to excitotoxins you can let them simmer for a full day or so. 

Add a cut-up onion (I used a sweet yellow onion), several cloves of chopped garlic (I used 4) and about 2 to 3 cups of lentils, bring to a boil and let these simmer in the broth while you cut up the rest of the vegetables and add them.

I added sliced baby carrots (probably the equivalent of 2 or 3 full-sized carrots),  3 large stalks of diced celery,  4 sliced green onions,  about a half cup of chopped fresh parsely, a small head of chopped broccoli and 3 miniature sweet red bell peppers (probably the equivalent of 1/2 to 1 full sized bell pepper. You could use other vegetables such as cauliflower or cabbage as well. 

Once the lentils are tender, remove the bones and add a can of pureed tomatoes (and/or some chopped fresh tomatoes), a splash of wine (optional--I used about 2 tablespoons of cabernet), about a tablespoon or so of dark blackstrap molasses, about a teaspoon of smoked paprika, about a half teaspoon of cumin, two to three teaspoons of sea salt,  and a dash of black pepper. Simmer for a few minutes to allow the flavors to blend before serving. 

Note: The reason for waiting to add the tomatoes and wine until the lentils are cooked is that adding too much acid while cooking can prevent legumes from becoming tender. 

Basic Yam (Sweet Potato) Puff

This is a simpler (and closer to the original) version of the Spiced Sweet Potato Puff recipe I posted previously.

4 large yams (sweet potatoes, the dark orange kind)

¼ cup butter

2 well-beaten eggs

⅓ cup sugar

¼ tsp baking soda

1 tsp. salt

Pare potatoes and boil until tender, then drain--or, for a richer flavor, bake them in the skins and then peel them. Mash and add remaining ingredients. Beat well and transfer to buttered casserole. Dot with additional butter and bake in moderate oven (350 degrees) for 30-40 minutes.

Pasta Casserole

2 cups dried pasta (we use rice noodles), cooked and drained.

1-2 cups cooked tuna, salmon, shrimp, chicken, rabbit, turkey or pork (or 2 cans, drained) --can add more if desired

2 cups white sauce (gravy made with milk or milk substitute instead of broth--see recipe here)

Green peas (frozen are fine)

Salt & pepper to taste

Butter

Preheat oven to 375. Place cooked & drained pasta in casserole dish. Add meat, peas, and salt/pepper to white sauce on stove and mix well. Pour white sauce mixture over noodles and stir.

Dollop with butter, cover, and bake 30-40 minutes or until hot & bubbly.

Pink Berry Rice Picnic Salad

One of the foods I've most missed was the "pink salad" my family traditionally makes for summer potlucks and picnics. So when my grandmother figured out how to make a version that was "safe" for everyone in the family's allergies and food intolerances, I had to make my own version too. Hers had crushed canned pineapple instead of the mandarins, and, since she had previously crushed frozen strawberries, she drained the pineapple and strawberry juice to thicken instead of using apple juice.

You could probably use any type of fruit and fruit juice, and the quantities don't have to be exact. If you use granulated sugar instead of honey, you may need to increase the amounts of both sugar and liquid, or if you have less than a half-cup of liquid, you may want to reduce the starch accordingly.

Approximate amounts:

1/4 cup apple juice
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons starch (I used Kuzu starch this time; tapioca flour or arrowroot powder should work just as well)
2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1 cup sliced fresh mandarin oranges (this was about 4 tiny oranges, with the segments separated and cut in half)
1 to 2 cups cooked rice (I used 2 cups of cooked brown rice for my version)

Later, you'll need:

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon honey
Vanilla to taste, if desired.

Mix the fruit juice and honey in a small saucepan, stir in the starch, and heat slowly, stirring with a whisk to keep it from becoming lumpy, until thickened. Add the sliced fruit and mash with a potato masher or use an immersion blender until the fruit is mashed up to your taste.

Stir in the cooked rice and chill the fruit and rice mixture until it begins to set and is cool enough not to melt your whipped cream. :)

Whip the cream with the honey and vanilla. When the rice and fruit mixture is cool, gently fold in the whipped cream.

You can eat this right away, but the flavors will blend and the rice will soften nicely if you leave it in the refrigerator for a while before serving.

Serve chilled.

My kids loved this, and it's so much healthier than the version we used to make with flavored gelatin and artificial whipped topping. :) If you can have cottage cheese, it could probably be substituted for the rice, but we haven't found an excitotoxin-free version of cottage cheese yet.

Gluten-free Banana Waffles

This is the gluten-free version of the Banana Waffle recipe I've been making lately. You can use any GF flour, but keep in mind that different flours may absorb more or less liquid, so you may need to adjust the amount of milk substitute.

2 cups flour (I use 1 and 1/2 cups brown rice flour plus 1/2 cup sweet white rice flour a.k.a. gelatinous rice flour, or it's even better with 1 cup brown rice flour, 1/2 cup coconut flour, and 1/2 cup sweet rice flour)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp sugar, optional (I usually leave this out or use an unrefined sugar such as palm sugar)
3/4 tsp. salt

2 mashed ripe bananas (about 1 cup--I'll add a third one if they're extra-small)
3 eggs, beaten
1 and 1/2 cups milk or milk substitute (I use rice milk)
1/3 cup melted shortening or oil (coconut oil works great)
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

(or, if preferred, you can use buttermilk or diluted plain yogurt [1/2 cup yogurt, 1 cup water or milk] instead of the milk and omit the vinegar)

Blend or sift together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine the bananas and other wet ingredients and mix well. Then mix together the wet and dry ingredients just until the flour blend is moistened. Bake in a hot waffle iron until crispy and brown on the outside and the amount of steam coming out of the waffle decreases.

Depending on your waffle iron, you may or may not need to grease the iron between waffles. With mine I usually find I can oil it just at the beginning of the batch and they don't stick.

The great thing about these waffles is that the bananas make them so sweet and moist, you don't even need toppings like syrup. We just eat them plain as finger food. :)

You could add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of vanilla and/or cinnamon if desired. To turn these into an extra-special treat or a dessert, you can add chocolate chips (and maybe top with whipped cream).

Quinoa Apple Salad

This recipe is modified from Martha Stewart's Curried Quinoa Apple Salad recipe.

Rinse 1 cup of dry quinoa well and cook with 2 cups of water. I bring it to a boil in a covered pot, then turn off the burner and leave the pot on the stove for about 20 minutes for perfectly cooked quinoa.

In a separate container mix together for the dressing:

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or lemon juice

2 to 3 tablespoons olive or grapeseed oil

1 teaspoon curry powder (I use a nightshade free curry powder and heap the measurement a bit)

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon sweet spice (optional--this is a mixture with cinnamon, cardamom and other sweet spices by the same manufacturer that makes the curry powder I use; I will edit the post to add the name later)

1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

1 tablespoon diced shallot

Stir the dressing into the cooled cooked quinoa, add 1 diced apple (grannysmith or Gala apples are good in this recipe) and 2 tablespoons currants.

This recipe is excellent chilled. I usually make a double batch and keep it in the refrigerator for a ready-made quick snack.

Fluffy Baked Eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a baking dish, either by rubbing oil on the inside or putting a little butter or coconut oil inside and heating in the oven long enough to melt, then tipping it to coat all sides of the pan.

Prepare your eggs just as if you were going to make an omlette or scrambled eggs. For me, this means beating my eggs and adding a dash of milk or milk substitute. Add salt and dried dill to taste. I use a very generous amount of dill. You can either mix these in or just sprinkle them on top after you pour the eggs into the pan.

Bake until solid but not too brown--for a 6 egg batch, I bake for 20 to 30 minutes.

This is so simple, and amazingly delicious. And you don't have to stand over it stirring it the whole time it's cooking. :)

Gluten-Free Banana Bread

This is the gluten-free version of the Eggless Banana Bread recipe--I added a couple of eggs to bind it and to add protein, but it would probably be just fine with the eggs left out.

3 ripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup melted butter or oil
1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca or sweet rice flour (NOT modified tapioca starch--any modified food starch is an excitotoxin)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup blackstrap molasses

Mix all ingredients together. Pour into greased bread pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out relatively clean.

This was almost a bit too sweet--next time I'll probably try cutting the honey down to about 1/4 to 1/3 cup.

Sweet and Savory Lentil Soup

Small amount of oil (I used olive oil)
1 onion (medium to large), diced
2 to 4 cloves garlic
3 to 5 carrots, washed and sliced thin
1 head cauliflower, cut into bite-sized chunks (1/2" to 1" or so)
Other vegetables as desired (I added 1/4 head of green cabbage, sliced)
2 cups lentils, rinsed and drained
About 10 cups water
Large pot

Saute onion and garlic in oil in the bottom of the pot until beginning to get soft and brown (carmelized). Add carrots and cauliflower, stirring and cooking slightly. Add water and lentils, bring to a boil, and simmer over medium to low heat until lentils are tender, about an hour.

Depending on what other vegetables you add, you may wish to add them when you add the lentils, or wait until closer to the end of cooking. I added cabbage about halfway through cooking.

If desired, add up to 1 lb. sausage about halfway through cooking also. (I buy a safe uncured sausage made with just meat and fresh herbs at a local butcher shop [Butcher Boys' ground Italian or Breakfast sausage], or there are a few safe brands of chicken sausage available commercially) If you leave out the sausage, this is a vegan recipe. Carmelizing the onions and garlic until they are brown makes the flavor and color much richer, and the carmelized onions and carrots give the soup a sweet flavor.

Just before stirring, add salt and pepper to taste if desired. With the sausage, I found we didn't need any further salt or spices.

This recipe is grain-free and nightshade-free, as long as you are careful about sausage ingredients. The cauliflower gives the starchy, mild flavor that takes the place of rice, noodles or potatoes in this recipe.

If you leave out the sausage, it's vegan. We get sausage with no additives other than herbs and spices at a local butcher shop or natural-food store. Our sausage contained ground chicken, salt, fennel seed, caraway seed, coriander, black pepper, garlic, thyme, and bay leaf. For even more flavor, you could use vegetable broth or bone broth in place of all or part of the water.

Almond-Crusted Tilapia with Garlic and Dill

Lay 5 to 6 fillets of tilapia or other mild white fish in a baking dish (I used a glass 11" x 13" pan)

Drizzle with 2 to 4 tablespoons oil (I used a mixture of olive oil and melted coconut oil)

Rub with 2 cloves crushed garlic

Shake a generous sprinkling of dried dill over the fillets.

Spread about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of almond meal over the fish (enough to coat the tops heavily), followed by another drizzle of oil and a second sprinkling of dill on top of the almond meal.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until fish is light and flaky.

I did not actually measure anything for this recipe, so the amounts are guesstimates. Basically I applied a fairly heavy sprinkling of dill each time (we like dill) and a nice thick layer of almond meal, with enough oil to lightly coat the fish and then slightly moisten the almond meal.

Even my fish-hater found it edible, and everyone else pronounced it some of the best fish they'd ever had.

I served it with a side of heated canned green beans, a head of cauliflower that I chopped and fried until lightly browned on the stovetop with oil and a sprinkling of salt, and some cooked quinoa.

Rice Cream Porridge

Cook 1 cup of brown rice (we like short-grain or sweet rice for this recipe) with 2 cups of water and 1/2 tsp salt (salt optional) until rice is done cooking and water is absorbed.

Add cooked rice and enough rice milk, milk, dairy substitute or water to process in blender. Blend until smooth.

Serve and enjoy! You may add toppings such as fruit, nuts or sweetener if desired, but it's good plain too.

Homemade safe chocolate

Take a small amount of your favorite fat that's solid at room temperature--I like coconut oil, butter, or a combination of the two. Add a small amount of sweetener (brown sugar is my favorite, but honey is good too) and cream this together with cocoa powder or raw cacao to taste. Eat as is or pour onto greased surface and chill to harden.

Buckwheat Blender Waffles or Pancakes

This recipe is adapted from Sue Gregg's Blender Pancakes or Waffles recipe. (I highly recommend Sue Gregg's cookbooks.)

Buckwheat is supposedly technically a fruit, not a grain, so these could be considered grain-free.

Measure 1 cup buckwheat and rinse. We used raw buckwheat (whole light-colored kernels, with the hulls removed), but Sue Gregg recommends sprouting buckwheat.

Put rinsed buckwheat in the blender and cover with about 1 to 1 and 1/2 cup(s) raw buttermilk, yogurt or kefir thinned with filtered water to buttermilk consistency. (For a non-dairy alternative, use rice milk, nut milk or water with 1 Tbsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar as part of the liquid).

Soak 6-12 hours or overnight.

Add to buckwheat mixture in blender:

2 Tablespoons chia seeds, ground or whole (optional--or you can substitute other types of edible seeds such as flaxseed if desired)
1 egg (optional--you can leave out or substitute)
2 Tablespoons oil, melted butter, or melted coconut oil
(optional) 1-2 teaspoons honey, maple syrup, or other sweetener
Enough liquid to blend, if necessary. A thinner batter is better for pancakes.

Preheat waffle iron.

Blend buckwheat mixture very well at highest setting until smooth, 3-6 minutes or more. Add more liquid if necessary for blending.

Meanwhile, mix together:

1/2-1 teaspoon baking soda (adjust the amount depending on the acidity of your liquid--more baking soda for higher acidity, less if you are diluting your yogurt or kefir, etc.)
1/2 teaspoon salt

While blender is running, sift baking soda mixture through fine sieve into blender, or drop carefully into vortex of blender. Turn off the blender as soon as the baking soda mixture is thoroughly mixed in.

Thoroughly grease or oil hot waffle iron and bake waffles until they have mostly stopped steaming (for both of my waffle irons, this is slightly longer than the iron's doneness indicator).

Carefully loosen waffle from iron (with non-metal implement if using a nonstick iron). We eat these plain, but you can top with fruit, syrup, whipped cream, or just about anything else. If you leave out the sweetener, waffles make a great base for things like sausage gravy, creamed tuna, or chicken a la king.

Waffles freeze or refrigerate well, and can be reheated in the toaster.


Troubleshooting and Variations:

* You can leave out either the egg or the seeds, but you probably need one or the other to bind it and keep the waffles from sticking to the waffle iron.

* Gluten-free waffles tend to stick to the iron more, so it's important to grease well and remove the waffles gently. Also make sure the waffle is done (has stopped billowing steam) before lifting the cover of the iron.

* You can leave the oil out or reduce to 1 tablespoon, but will still need to grease the waffle iron and the waffles may stick more. Increasing the flaxseed will allow you to reduce other added oils without so much of a sticking problem.

* If you wish to use plain water or un-soured milk or dairy substitute, reduce the baking soda to 1/4-1/2 tsp. The waffles won't rise as much and may be a bit more bland, but they should still work.

Flaxseed egg substitute

For 1 egg: 1 Tbs ground flax seed, mixed with 3 Tbs hot water

For 2 eggs (in some recipes, this amount can substitute for 1 large egg): 2 Tbs. ground flax seed, 1/4 cup hot water

You can either just let this sit for a while and then add to the recipe, or you can cook the flaxseed and water until gelled, let it cool and then if desired you can whip it to add more lift to your baked goods. You may need to add 1-2 Tbsp more water for the cooked and whipped version.

Another thing I've done when I want to substitute for 1 to 4 eggs is just add 1/4 cup or so of flaxseed meal to my recipe and increase the liquid a bit if needed. Flax seed contains quite a bit of oil, so you may be able to omit or reduce other oils in the recipe. It's pretty flexible, so you can play with the amounts without hurting your baked goods too much.

I do recommend using ground flax seed, or grinding it in a coffee grinder or spice mill to release the oils and the nice sticky compounds in the flaxseed that make it a good binder in baked goods.

If you're trying to make something like waffles and they are sticking, either grease your griddle better or try adding another tablespoon of flax seed and the corresponding amount of water.

Spiced Sweet Potato Puff

This is an old family recipe with some modifications--I doubled the eggs, used 1/4 cup honey instead of the original 1/3 cup sugar, and added pumpkin pie-type spices. I think I actually prefer it without the spices, or with just the cinnamon, but it's good both ways. I use whipped cream instead of the traditional marshmallow topping, or it's good with no topping at all.

It turns out quite fluffy.

4 large sweet potatoes (the darker, sweet deep orange kind often called yams or garnet yams in U.S. markets), cooked and mashed (drain water if boiled)
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup honey
4 eggs, thoroughly beaten
1 tsp salt (I put in slightly less)
2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
Scant 1/2 tsp ginger (optional)
1/4 tsp nutmeg (optional)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract or maple syrup(optional)

Butter large baking dish (I used 9" x 13" x 2")

If mashed sweet potatoes are still warm, stir butter in and allow to melt. Add honey, and eggs and mix well. Add dry ingredients (either mix together or add baking powder last), beat until well-blended, and pour into baking dish. Dot with butter if desired.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes. Serve warm or cold, topped with whipped cream if desired.

Jucygalicious Meat Sauce

My kids (ages 4-8) named this one. They're not fans of Italian-style marinara meat sauce, so I decided to try something completely different. It was a success.

This has a very complex, rich flavor. If you don't like fennel, feel free to leave it out.

The recipe can be gluten-free and/or grainless, depending on the starch chosen to serve with the sauce.

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Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef (or meat of your choice)
1/2 sweet bell pepper, diced (I used orange, but yellow or red would work also)
1 tsp crushed garlic (2-3 cloves)
2 Tbsp onion (I used freeze-dried red onion)

1.5 to 2 cups chopped tomatoes (I used Pomi canned tomatoes, about half of a 26+ oz container)
1 large carrot, grated
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp ground yellow mustard (dry)
1/2 tsp. rubbed sage
1 tsp sea salt
Scant 1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp fennel seeds (I ground them in a coffee grinder I keep for herbs and spices, but you could just slightly crush them)
1 Tbsp dried parsely (or 1-3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsely)
1/4 cup water or broth (I used 4 cubes frozen bone broth from my recipe here) (Note: for excitotoxin-limited diets, use water or homemade broth cooked only briefly)

Cooked pasta, rice, spaghetti squash, grain or other starch of your choice.

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Brown ground beef on stovetop. (I used a cast-iron pan.) Drain fat if desired. When meat is not quite done, add bell pepper, garlic and onion to brown with meat. Add remaining ingredients and simmer until vegetables are soft and flavors are melded, about 10-30 minutes. Add more or less liquid as needed.

Serve over pasta, rice, spaghetti squash, grain or starch of your choice. I used 12 oz. of Trader Joe's Organic Vegetable Radiatore cooked with a little safflower oil added to the cooking water.

Gluten-free Chocolate Zucchini Quick Bread

This recipe is egg-heavy, because I find we do better with a lot of protein along with our sugars. With all the eggs, it's sort of a brownie/cake/quiche cross.

This cake is not super-sweet; I'll even serve it for breakfast. If you like your coffee cake or dessert heavily sweet you may want to add an extra 1/4 cup of honey or other sweetener, or mix in chocolate chips.

For the eggless version, try my Chocolate Zucchini Cake recipe with regular or gluten-free flour.

Preheat over to 350 degrees F. Oil or grease a 9" x 13" pan (I used a glass casserole dish; a metal pan may cook faster)

Peel zucchini and cut into chunks--about 2 small or 1 large zucchini.

Sift together in large bowl:

3/4 cup brown rice flour (or any other gluten-free flour)
3/4 cup ivory teff flour (or any other GF flour)
3/4 cup tapioca flour
1/2 Tablespoon (1 and 1/2 teaspoons) baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

In pitcher of large blender, combine:

1/2 cup plain yogurt or applesauce (you can substitute safe chocolate or vanilla yogurt, pureed pears or a dairy substitute)
Enough zucchini chunks to make 2 cups of puree

Blend up the yogurt and zucchini, adding more zucchini until it makes a total of 2 and 1/2 cups combined puree.

Add to blender:

1/4 to 1/3 cup oil (I used grapeseed oil, but any mildly flavored oil or melted butter will work)
1 cup honey
6 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla (optional--omit if you are avoiding corn, gluten, alcohol or fermented foods and are not sure if your vanilla is free of these items)


Process zucchini mixture in blender until smooth.

Pour zucchini mixture into dry ingredients and mix just until blended. Fold in 1/2 to 1 cup nuts or chocolate chips if desired. Pour batter into greased pan and bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out almost clean.

Let it cool for a few minutes before trying to cut it, but you can serve it a bit warm if desired. Your family won't even know they're eating their vegetables for dessert!

Sprouted Quinoa Waffles

This recipe is adapted from Sue Gregg's Blender Pancakes or Waffles recipe. (I highly recommend Sue Gregg's cookbooks.)

Measure 1 and 1/2 cups whole raw quinoa and rinse very well to remove bitter saponins. I rinse it 1/2 cup at a time in a strainer for at least 3 minutes or until it stops foaming and does not smell bitter.

Put rinsed quinoa in a bowl and cover with warm or room-temperature filtered water--about 1 and 1/2 to 2 cups water. Soak 6-12 hours or overnight. There should be visible sprouts after an overnight soak--quinoa sprouts very quickly.

Drain and rinse quinoa.

Combine in blender:

Sprouted quinoa
2 Tablespoons ground flaxseed (or 3-4 Tbs whole flax seed)
1 cup liquid (1 cup buttermilk, 1/2 cup yogurt diluted with 1/2 cup milk or water, or
1 Tbs. lemon juice or vinegar plus enough water or milk substitute to make 1 cup)
1 egg * (see egg-free variation below)
2 Tablespoons oil, melted butter, or melted coconut oil
(optional) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (be sure it's a safe kind if gluten- or corn-intolerant)
(optional) 1-2 Tablespoons honey, maple syrup, or other sweetener

Preheat waffle iron.

Blend quinoa mixture very well at highest setting until smooth, 3-6 minutes. Add more liquid if necessary for blending.

Meanwhile, mix together:

2 teaspoons baking powder (I used Hain Featherweight--this does contain cornstarch so is not totally excitotoxin-free but is something I can eat in small amounts occasionally as a "cheat"--if you are more sensitive than I am, use your own safe baking powder or a baking powder substitute.)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

While blender is running, sift baking powder mixture through fine seive into blender. Turn off the blender as soon as the baking powder mixture is thoroughly mixed in.

Thoroughly grease or oil hot waffle iron and bake waffles until they have mostly stopped steaming (for both of my waffle irons, this is slightly longer than the iron's doneness indicator).

Carefully loosen waffle from iron. We eat these plain, but you can top with fruit, syrup, meat, or just about anything else. If you leave out the sweetener, waffles make a great base for things like sausage gravy, creamed tuna, or chicken a la king.




Troubleshooting and Variations:

Gluten-free waffles tend to stick to the iron more, so it's important to grease well and remove the waffles gently. Also make sure the waffle is done (has stopped billowing steam) before lifting the cover of the iron.

If the waffles stick too much, try adding 1/2 to 1 tablespoon oil to the batter. More flaxseed (up to 2 tablespoons more ground flaxseed) in the batter will also help prevent sticking.

If the waffles are gooey, they may not be cooked enough or there may be too much flaxseed in them.

* For a sugar-restricted diet, omit sweetener and use diluted yogurt, water, or nut milk as the liquid. If avoiding fermented foods (because of intolerances or to treat candida) also omit vanilla, and do not use vinegar as a souring agent. For vegan or egg-free waffles, try increasing flaxseed to 1/4 cup and omitting eggs, and increase liquid to easy blending consistency.

* You can leave the oil out or reduce to 1 tablespoon, but will still need to grease the waffle iron and the waffles may stick more. Increasing the flaxseed will allow you to reduce other added oils without so much of a sticking problem.

* If you wish to use plain water or un-soured milk or dairy substitute, just leave out the 1/2 teaspoon baking soda. The waffles will be more bland and won't rise as much, but they'll work.

Chebe Grainless Dutch Oven Pancake

This is a grain-free (and gluten free) version of the famous oven pancake--that fluffy egg dish also known as dutch babies, Dutch oven pancake, or German pancake. It's really more like a quiche or like a big popover or quick bread than like pancakes. Definitely a favorite dish at my house, we eat it for breakfast, lunch, or even dinner.

It goes beautifully with sweet or savory topping (sausage is especially good for a savory version). Usually I add a tablespoon of honey or maple syrup and we eat it like bread without any other topping.

(Update: This is no longer a safe food for us, now that we're limiting excitotoxins.)

This version is made with Chebe bread mix--a tapioca-based grainless bread.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Coat an 8.5" x 11" or 9" by 13" baking pan with 1 to 1.5 tablespoons oil or melted butter.

Beat together:


• 5 eggs


• 1/4 cup milk, dairy substitute or other liquid


• 1 to 1.5 Tablespoons additional oil (I used grapeseed--you could probably leave out the additional oil, but it's really good with the oil in it)


• (Optional)--1 Tablespoon sweetener (I used Grade B maple syrup), 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1 teaspoon herbs, or other flavoring of your choice.


Mix in:

• 1 packet (7.5 oz) Chebe All-Purpose Bread Mix


Don't overbeat, but mix it in until all the large lumps are broken up and it's looking fairly smooth.

Spread mixture into greased pan with spatula.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. It will puff up, and then fall as it cools. Cut into slices and enjoy!

*Note: This recipe only qualifies as sugar-restricted if the sweetener is omitted.

*Important: If you're sensitive to excitotoxins or extremely sensitive to MSG, you may want to avoid this recipe. The modified tapioca starch in the Chebe bread mix is a potential source of excitotoxins.

Grainless Banana Pancakes or Scramble

In our house this recipe is just called "Banana Eggs".

Mash 1 banana, add 3 eggs, beat well. Or, combine banana and eggs in blender and puree. Add 1/16 to 1/8 tsp of salt and, if desired, a dash of cinnamon or vanilla. (Remember, if you use vanilla or other flavoring extracts, check to see if it's free of your allergens.)

Preheat frying pan and cook over medium heat until golden-brown, turning to cook both sides. You'll know the pancakes are ready to turn over when they are golden-brown on the bottom and solid enough that a bubble popped in the middle leaves a hole that doesn't refill.

You can also make a delicious banana scramble just by stirring the mixture frequently as it cooks. This will make a more tender, less brown concoction similar to scrambled eggs.

I make this recipe with 2 bananas and 6 (or 8) eggs for my family. It's great as a snack or maybe even dessert, as well as for breakfast. No added sweetener needed!