Simple Snack - Toasted Coconut Flakes

Fat tends to get a bad rap, especially the good fats like tallow, lard and coconut.  Coconut oil and other coconut products are a huge part of our diets and the fats they give have provided great nourishment for both Kevin and Rylan.

One of Ry's favorite snacks is toasted coconut flakes and they are so simple to make and stash in my purse.

Toasted Coconut Flakes

2-3 cups coconut flakes
sea salt to taste

Spread the flakes on a baking sheet.  Sprinkle with some sea salt and bake at 325 F for 5- 10 minutes.  Be sure to watch them closely.

You can also add other flavours like cinnamon or cocoa powder.

Chocolate Cream Pie

Chocolate, Chocolate and more Chocolate is what makes this recipes so awesome.  I only make this pie when we have very special company coming over and I want to wow them with a food free of our allergens that tastes like a food that should be filled with all our allergens.  I mean, really, who does not like chocolate in pie form.

Rylan's eyes nearly popped out of his head when I made this one and he begged every 5 minutes to try it and I had to very gently break his heart that the pie needed to set before I could cut into it.

Chocolate Cream Pie

1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup tapioca starch
3 egg yolks
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla

1 basic pie crust

Mix the cocoa, tapioca, beaten yolks, sugar and salt in a pot.  Over medium heat slowly add the milk while stirring.  Cook until the mixture thickens up.  Remove from the heat and add the vanilla and then pour into the baked pie crust and allow to cool in the fridge.

Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies

The chocolate chip cookie is my all time favorite cookie and when I was craving salt while pregnant with Rylan I add a lot to my cookie recipe and amazingly it tasted really good.  This one cookie satisfies your craving for the sweet and the salty.  If I could make these cookies everyday and just eat them I probably would but I hear vegetables are good for you too.

Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup coconut oil
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
1 3/4 cups flour
1 cup chocolate chips

Mix together the wet ingredients and fold in the dry ones.  Add the chocolate chips and mix well.  Place by the tbsp full onto parchment lined sheets and make at 360 F for 11 minutes.  Let cool on the tray for 5 minutes.

Double Chocolate Cake

Sometimes I look at Rylan with is blond hair and blues and wonder where he came from.  He does not look much like me but there is one thing we both share that lets me know he is mama's boy.  We both have a deep love for chocolate and anytime that I make anything with chocolate he is patiently waiting by the oven for it to come out.  This cake is one of his favs and I am sure if I left him unattended he would eat the entire thing all in one sitting.  The cake is super easy to make and super tasty and is the cake I use for Ry's birthdays!!

Double Chocolate Cake

1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla 
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup boiling water

Mix together all the ingredients except for 1/2 cup of chocolate chips and the boiling water.  Mix in the bowling water and then pour into a greased and floured cake pan.  Top with the rest of the chocolate chips.  Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes.

Chinese BBQ Pork & Hoisin Sauce

I miss take out.  It is not like we ate out a ton but when you wanted to celebrate or just have a night off you went out or ordered in.  I also used take out to get the things that I could not make myself.  This allergy has forced me to learn how to make some of my favorite dishes so that they are safe for the family.

Growing up my Mom would take us to China town in Edmonton to a little place that had the best BBQ pork that I have ever eaten.  I knew that I really needed to learn how to do it myself so that I can pass on a few things to Ry.  I made this for the first time at Christmas and it was so good and I have made it many more times since.

There are a few steps involved in making but they are so worth it.

Chinese BBQ Pork

Step 1: Make hoisin sauce

4 tbsp coconut aminos
1 tbsp molasses
2 tsp coconut vinegar
1 garlic clove minced
1 tsp dried chilis
1/8 tsp black pepper

Step 2: Make BBQ Sauce

1 1/2 tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp sea salt
1 garlic clove minced
1 tsp ground ginger
3 tbsp ketchup
3 tbsp coconut aminos
2 tbsp hoisin sauce

Mix the BBQ sauce together.  

Step 3: Marinate

1 lbs pork tenderloin
BBQ Sauce

Poke holes in the pork with a knife and place in a ziploc bag with the sauce and allow to marinate for 6 hours.  Remove the pork from the bag and place in a roasting pan and cook at 450 F for 30 minutes.  Remove from the heat and let rest for 5 minutes before cutting.

Puffed Wheat Squares

Everyone has memories growing up of eating puffed wheat squares and I wanted to give those same memories to Rylan.  I never realized how hard it was going to be to replicate them for Rylan.  I went through at least 8 different attempts with various substitutions and they never stuck together.  I was finally able to get it right and seeing the sheer excitement on Ry's face when he got to eat them for the same time was priceless.

We never take food for granted  in this house and we spend a lot of time trying to create foods that will bring joy to Ry's face and his tummy.  The final recipe is a lot like traditional puffed wheat recipes but with a few changes to make it safe for us.

Puffed Wheat Squares

8 cups puffed wheat
7 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 cup coconut nectar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup palm shortening
1 tbsp coconut oil

Grease a 9 x 13 pan with coconut oil.  Grease a large bowl and spoon and pour the puffed wheat in the bowl.  In a small pot bring the remaining ingredients to a boil and simmer for 1 minute.  Pour over the puffed wheat and mix well.  Press into the pan and let set.

Homemade Vanilla Extract

I always thought that vanilla extract was just vanilla and a liquid.  I had no idea that there were many more ingredients inside the store bought stuff and that all of those extras would make Rylan sick.  For some odd reason I had it in my head that making my own would be really tough and so I just never tried it.  My baking was definitely missing something so I decided to give homemade extract a try.

I will say that I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to make my own and how I had much more confidence in the ingredients in them.  I often think back and wonder why I did not try this before and why everyone else is not making there own.

Vanilla Extract

1 pint jar
8-12 vanilla beans, sliced open
vodka to fill the jar

Place the vanilla beans in the jar and fill with vodka.  Close the jar and allow the alcohol to draw out the vanilla for 6-8 weeks.  The longer you let it sit the better it gets.  Once ready use in recipes as needed.

We use a vodka that is 100% potatoes and works for Ry.  You can use any vodka of your choosing.