Dairy Free Nuts & Bolts

 

Hi!

Long time no chat!   Hopefully you are following DFB on facebook – because I try to check in every day with questions, tips, suggestions, product reviews etc.!   There has been some great chatter about dairy free hot chocolate suggestions, cheese substitutions, cookbook suggestions etc.!  Don’t miss out!

Anyways, moving on!

I have been a total slacker with creating recipes!  So many great recipes out there that are easier to follow!  

However, I always make a few alterations & with it being Christmas Season and all I have made a few tasty treats!

So far I’ve made…

1. Turtles (aka caramel, nuts and chocolate!) – I use this recipe and it’s incredible!
2. Chocolate Covered Oreos  - sounds as easy as it is!  You just roll and oreo (dairy free!) in chocolate – and sprinkle with well… SPRINKLES! ha
3. I’ve also made Christmas “crack” but I don’t like the name, so I’ll come up with a new name and post the recipe!

 

Now in all that sweetness – this preggo chick (29 weeks today!) needed some salt in her life! That’s where Nuts & Bolts comes in!  The recipe comes from a dear friend – when we visited them October – I couldn’t stop eating this – it’s salty, savoury and crunchy, what more can you ask for?  And it’s cute to package up in little baggies or mason jars as gifts!

Dairy Free Nuts & Bolts!

• 1 1/4 cup canola oil
• 2TBSP Worcestershire sauce
• 8 cups plain cheerios
• 5 cups shreddies
• 4 cups pretzels (I would personally add more, they were my favorite)
• 2 1/4 cup peanuts (I used almonds!)
• 1 tsp celery salt (I used seasoning salt)
• 1/4 cup dried onions
• 1-2 tsp garlic powder

Mix canola, Worcestershire sauce, celery salt, dried onions and garlic powder together in a small bowl.    Mix the rest of the ingredients in a very large bowl.    Pour sauce over and mix until everything is covered!

Bake at 200 for 1.5 hours – stirring occasionally!  (This part is really hard, I had to taste test a few times!)

Remove from heat and let cool completely, transfer into a air tight container!

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Of course you can play around with this recipe – a few things I thought of after that would be good to add…

• Plain Popcorn
• Chex cereal
• Seeds (sunflower and pumpkin)
• If you are a sweet/salty, after it’s all cooled you could add in some crasins or chocolate chips!
• Pine nuts

Hope you enjoyed this recipe – up next – Christmas “crack” will appear with a new name!

Jessica

Empty the Pantry Granola!

So if you knew me in my pre-dairy free days, you would know that one of my FAVORITE things was yogurt with granola and fresh fruit!  

I NEVER buy soy yogurt because it’s so expensive,  but the other day a 12 pack was on sale for under $5!!  I get this brand – and it’s very tasty!

So I had this 12 pack of “yogurt” so I KNEW I needed some granola to go with it!

Voilà -  I made some and it was perfect!

Empty the Pantry, Dairy Free Granola!

I call this empty the pantry, because I pretty much just used anything I had little bits of!!

2 cups oats

1/2 cup chia seeds

1/2 cup dry millet

1/2 cup dry buck wheat oats

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Preheat the oven to 350.

Mix all above ingredients into a large bowl

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Add to the mix;

1 TBSP Mesquite (optional)

1 TBSP Lucuma (optional)

1 TBSP cinnamon

1 TBSP vanilla

1/8 cup oil

1/4 cup liquid sweetener – I used maple syrup.

Mix together – taste and adjust flavours – you may want to add some salt to the mix too!

Put mixture on a baking sheet – and bake for 10 minutes

After 10 minutes flip granola and pop back into oven.

At this point – watch the granola so it doesn’t burn.   After about 5 minutes – I turned off the oven and just let the granola sit in the hot oven for a couple hours!

It came out perfect and crunchy!

The buckwheat grouts and millet added an awesome crunch and the mesquite and Lucuma added a really satisfying flavour (as well as boosted the nutritional stats!)

This granola would be great to wrap up as a gift for someone too!!   It should last awhile in an airtight container!!

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Do you have a favourite granola recipe?

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I’ve noticed a bit of a fade in the 30 miles in 30 days challenge!  Don’t loose hope!

I know though, I’m having a hard time with it too – because I am doing so many fitness classes at work – I’m tired when I get home and want to just hang out!  But we can still keep going!   We are only on week 2~~~  So feel free to join still!!

Honey Almond Thumb Print Cookies

Happy Canada Day to all my fellow Canadian Folks! Eh!

Guess what I’m doing today?

Wooooo!!!!  I’m doing Zumba in the parade!!   1.25 hours – 11 songs x 2 – I’m going to be one tired – but super pumped cookie!  SO excited!! Hopefully someone will take pictures so I can do a re-cap!!

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Moving along…

There is this amazing gal in my life.

I call her (and her sister) – my little sisters!

My parents and her parents have always been good friends and when I was 18, I moved to their town – they were the only people I knew – so needless to say I spent a lot of time with them and they became my family!

This amazing gal was a bridesmaid in my wedding (obviously), even though she was always supposed to be a flower girl (what can I say, I waited a long time to get married!).  She also graduated from high school a few weeks ago, and I’m one proud big sis!!

ANYWAYS – this whole segue is because when I go visit, she always makes some dairy free treats (she’s an amazing cook!)  Anyways, last time I went to visit she made me these amazing cookies!   And I stole the recipe from her!

I hope you enjoy these yummy cookies!

Honey Almond Thumb Print Cookies

2 cups flour

1 cup almonds (or cashews)

1/4 tsp salt

2/3 cup honey

1/2 cup oil

Jam for filling (I use only the best – Newfoundland Nan’s Homemade Raspberry!)

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Pre-heat oven to 325.

Put almonds (or cashews) in a blender or food processor and chop until it becomes a chunky flour consistency.

In a bowl – add flour, almonds, salt, honey and oil and mix until it looks like this…

Next – roll dough into balls and place on cookie sheet.  (the dough will seem crumbly, but go with it!)

Put a thumb print in each cookie (think – the deeper the hole, the more jam!)

Add in jam or other goodies into the hole (peanut butter and jam is awesome)

Bake cookies for 15 – 20 minutes or until they begin to brown!

Let cool – and drool!!

These cookies have an awesome flavour – the roasted almonds provide a crunch, and the honey adds an awesome sweetness!  Plus the jam becomes oozy and caramelizes a wee bit!

Hope you give these a try – they are fantastic!

Enjoy your Canada Day or July 1st!!

Are you up to anything fun this weekend?

PS.  Update of the cute puppies coming up next week!

Mama Pea Mmm Sauce!

So if you have yet to try Mama Pea’s Mmm Sauce, you are missing out!

I’m not going to lie, it wasn’t love at first bite, but after a few bites, I was addicted!

I used it as a dip for salad rolls! So awesome!

And I used it in a Buddha Bowl of sorts – Sprouts, Tofu, Sautéed Kale

And as a salad dressing!

and then as a dip for my French fries!!

PS. I FINALLY figured out the secret to really awesome French Fries.

Slice up potatoes and put them in COLD water.   Dry thoroughly!!   Coat with coconut oil and spices.  Cook on 375 until crispy!  They were SO good!!

ps.  The rest of that plate includes kale sautéed in sesame oil with salt and sesame seeds and BBQed trout!

Anywhoo. I highly recommend making Mama Pea’s Sauce – you won’t regret it!! 

Do you have a favourite sauce/dip??

How was your weekend?  Did you do anything fun??

We went out for drinks with friends on Friday and for coffee with friends and their sweet new baby girl on Saturday and Sunday was full with Zumba, baking something for my mom, visiting and getting ready for another busy week!

Have a fabulous Monday!!!   Do you do the “meatless Monday” thang?