Date Sweetened Cinnamon Cookies (Gluten Free, SCD, GAPS friendly)

I just tried a little experiment and I'm pretty happy with the results.  I do quite a bit of baking around here and like to have cookies and baked goods to throw into the kids' school lunches but I don't want to load them up on sugar, even natural sugar or honey (which is all we're using right now).  Eva likes dates and has used date butter (just equal parts butter and dates processed together) on top of her occasional breakfast oatmeal but my boys don't care for them normally.  But I just tried two experiments with dates and both worked out well and are very popular with the boys!  One is peanut butter balls rolled in flaked coconut (containing peanut butter, dates, flaked coconut, coconut flour, and coconut oil) and the other were cinnamon cookies. 

The cookies are not very sweet but are tasty.  If you're kids are used to refined sugar and flour then these may not go over so well... Here is the recipe!

1 1/2 cup dates (loose dates, nothing added)
1 cup almonds (soaked and dried)
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1/4 cup coconut flour
3 tbs soft butter or coconut oil
2 eggs
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla (optional)
pinch sea salt

Preheat oven to 350.   Put all ingredients into food processor and process until dates and almonds are well ground and mixture is a dough consistency.  Shape into small balls and place on parchment lined cookie sheet.  Flatten with the heel of your palm (or you could use the back of a greased spoon, etc...).  Bake 12-14 min.  Makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

Win A Free Copy of Eat Well, Feel Well: More Than 150 Delicious Specific Carbohydrate Diet(tm)-compliant Recipes by Kendall Conrad

I got this cookbook Eat Well, Feel Well: More Than 150 Delicious Specific Carbohydrate Diet(tm)-compliant Recipes a few weeks ago and really really love it. I've already made the cucumber wrapped spring rolls with peanut sauce, french toast with bananas in honey caramel sauce, and more.  Every recipe I've tried has been excellent and the kids have loved it.  So I decided to offer it as a free gift to any readers who would like to enter my little contest.  I'm trying to help promote my friend Lydia's recipe ebooks so here's the deal:  If you buy her September edition for $7.95 and comment here and let me know, I'll enter your name 1 time in a drawing.  She is offering the August edition free with the September edition so you're getting a great deal.  Her recipes are amazing with pictures of every one and all the recipes I"ve tried are excellent and very healthy, gluten free, low carb, low natural sugar etc...

If you have already purchased her ebook this month that's fine, just let me know and I'll enter your name!  If you tell a friend about this contest and they buy a book you can have your name entered again, 1 for each friend you tell who buys a book.  If you buy a subscription, I"ll give you 5 entries, and 3 entries for your friend who buys a subscription.  All you have to do is tell me in the comment section and in one week, Sept. 23, I'll  do the draw and announce the winner.  I'll email you and get your info and have the book shipped to your door.  Either way you'll be winning because Lydia's recipes are amazing!!!!!!!

Click here to go to  her ebook page where you can view the table of contents, pictures, and make your purchase.

Good luck!

Frozen Peanut Butter Pie (SCD, Gluten Free, GAPS friendly)

I'm not  a GAPS or SCD diet expert by any means, but this pie I whipped up yesterday is as far as a know compliant.  We are newly trying to follow the basics and so far I really like this way of eating, lots of room for creativity and yumminess.  This is a crustless pie but you could easily add a press in nut type crust, or even a baked coconut flour crust.  Cooking With Coconut Flour by Bruce Fife is an excellent resource and has several good pie crust recipes.

Here's the recipe for the filling:

1 cup natural peanut butter (no additives)
1 cup plain yogurt, NOT low fat (preferably homemade)
1/4 cup butter or coconut oil
1/3 cup honey
4 egg whites
pinch of sea salt

beat the first four ingredients until light and fluffy
in separate bowl, beat egg whites and salt until stiff
fold the egg white into the peanut butter mixture in two parts (half at a time)
pour into buttered pie dish and smooth out, cover and freeze until hardened if you can wait that long! 

I served this with homemade vanilla ice cream and it was good.