Homemade Almond Milk

I hope you all are getting excited that winter is almost over!  I know I am!  In fact, I just ordered some vegetable seeds, just so I'm prepared and ready for the first opportunity that comes along to plant spinach.  I have recently gotten a few other items that have me chomping at the bit, waiting for spring and fresh, local produce, about one of which I will share in a moment.

School has been going well for all of us, and I am finally used to my new schedule.  The kids have adjusted well, also, and enjoy going to school with us on days when Chuck and I are both on campus.  I set them up in the library, or even in our classroom with us, and they do their schoolwork quietly while we are in class.  Since I am only in class for an hour at a time, it works well.  They are learning to do work independently, and when I get done with my first class (I take 2 on those days) I check their work or help them with the subjects they need help with before going to my second class an hour later.  There are actually a few days when I have class and Chuck doesn't, so he stays home with them and helps them with their school.  This is really working well for us and has forced us to make necessary changes in our habits while becoming more disciplined in all areas of our lives.  In fact, the kids' chores and school work are getting done faster and better than before I was in school.  I think that having Daddy home and monitoring things is really helping them to be more disciplined, and I am truly grateful for that.

My diet has been changing drastically in the last few weeks.  I had to do a report for Biology class, so I researched and wrote about how our body pH affects our health.  I have learned so much about the role that food plays in our lives, and it is really helping me to make some adjustments that I have been wanting to make.  I am significantly increasing the fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds in my diet while decreasing the amount of grains, starches, and animal products, though not completely eliminating them.  I am thus losing weight and am ecstatic that the pounds are beginning to drop off again.  All my food cravings are disappearing, as well. 

This brings me to some other news--I got a Vita-Mix!!!  I am so excited!  I have been wanting one of these champions of blenders for quite awhile, but finances have not allowed it until now.  My old blender (wasn't really that old) was dying a slow and painful death (and making all kinds of noises) due to all the blending with nuts (family loves the Nacho Cheeze Dip), so I decided that since we seem to use our blender a lot that it would be worth it to get the Vita-Mix.  Besides, it has an awesome warranty and great track record.

Along with my new blender, I purchased a nut milk bag, with the intentions of trying to make homemade almond milk again.  I've made it in the past, but I strained it with cheesecloth, which turned out to be a huge, messy endeavor that I decided wasn't worth it.  However, I came across this nut milk bag that had such great reviews I decided to give it another shot, and I am so very glad I did.

I have been making my own almond milk for a couple of weeks, now, and it is delicious!  The whole family loves it, including my husband.  I think the texture is similar to dairy milk, and it is just the right sweetness that we like.  I can control the ingredients that go into my milk, so I don't use the gums and sugars that the store-bought milks have in them.  I got this recipe from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen, modifying her recipe for Vanilla Mylk.  My husband isn't crazy about vanilla milk, and we really just wanted a good milk to put over cereal.  I will come up with a version of vanilla milk and chocolate milk, soon.

I seem to have misplaced my camera for the moment, so I can't share pictures right now.  I will try to get some pictures up, soon.  Enjoy!

Homemade Almond Milk
1/2 c. raw almonds, soaked at least 12 hrs. and rinsed
6 pitted Deglet dates
a pinch of sea salt, optional
5 c. cold, fresh water (not the soaking water)

Put all the ingredients in your blender and blend until smooth.  I blend it in my Vita-Mix for almost a minute.  With a regular blender, it may take a couple of minutes.  Pour the milk into your nut milk bag, holding it over a bowl with a spout or a pitcher.  Gently squeeze the liquid through the nut milk bag until it is all strained out.  You should be left with ground up almond pulp.  You can reserve this for other recipes if you're like me and don't want to feel like you are wasting food.  I made cookies with my last batch that turned out pretty good.  I will share the recipe when I get it perfected.  Pour your milk into a glass pitcher and store it in the fridge.


I have also been making green smoothies a lot.  They really seem to be helping me with food cravings, energy, and weight loss, and they taste great!  I simply use 1/2 spinach and 1/2 fruit with a little water to help things move along in the blender.  I know it sounds nasty, but when you have that much fruit, you really can't taste the spinach.  My whole family loves them, and I feel good because we are eating a ton of greens and fresh fruit.  I have noticed, too, that they are choosing to eat a lot more fresh fruit and veggies for their snacks and at meals.  Yay!

Last but certainly not least, I just have to post this link to my daughter's video on youtube.  I know it has nothing to do with the subject of my blog, but I'm just so tickled that she is singing her very own song in her very own video on the internet!  Check it out!

Getting in the Swing of Things

Well, I have been pretty quiet since the holidays.  I was sick for about 2 weeks following our trip to Tennessee right after Christmas.  Then--school!  That's right.  I have started attending Davis College full time.  In fact, my husband and I take 2 classes together and 2 classes apart.  Classes started last Monday, right after I got better from being sick.

I have really been focusing on figuring out a schedule for our family that works and just trying to get into the swing of things--going to school, leading Girl Scout troops, doing homework, cleaning and cooking, ministry, etc.  I have to admit that I haven't done much baking lately.  It's all I can do just to cook dinners.  The cook at school does a great job at making gluten free lunches for me (and the kids when they come to the campus to do their schoolwork in the library on Mondays and Fridays).  He is really wonderful.

I may be taking a little break from baking, but it will only be temporary while my family gets in the groove of our life right now.  I am already starting to do a little baking.  I baked a cake using Betty Crocker's Gluten Free Yellow Cake Mix and made an awesome Cinnamon Vanilla Frosting with the help of my friend, Rob.  His mother gave him a great recipe for a Buttercream Frosting that we modified to fit my family's diet restrictions.  Mind you, it is not in the least bit low-carb or healthy because I did use confectionary sugar, but it sure tasted great!  It was for a football party, so I decided to go ahead and give my family a break from healthy food and let them have a little junk.  The funny thing is that only 3 of us ended up eating any of the cake, voluntarily!  I think it shows progress that the kids would choose to say, "No thanks.  I'm not that hungry and don't need all that sugar right now!"

For those of you who feel that an occasional unhealthy sweet treat is ok, I will share the recipe, but you'll have to wait awhile until I decide to make it again.  I have to make sure I have all the measurements right before sharing.  I will probably make another cake sometime in February, either for my anniversary or for Valentine's Day.  Perhaps I will decide a yellow cake with Cinnamon Vanilla Frosting would be perfect for the occasion.

In the meantime, stay warm.  Check out my recipe for Hot Chocolate on the recipe page.  I'll post a new recipe soon.

GF Spritz Cookies and Sarah's Sorghum-Millet All-Purpose Flour Blend

So how has your Christmas season been?  We are having a great time with family and friends.  We went to visit family on Thursday evening to celebrate Christmas as well as Cassie's and Nathan's birthdays.  I baked all day Friday, preparing a variety of GF cookies for Christmas Day, and then we had some friends and family over for brunch (Baked Oatmeal, scrambled eggs, bacon, and all-natural breakfast sausage) and dinner (roast beef, mashed potatoes, carrots, gravy) on Christmas.  All of my cookies received great feedback, so I thought I'd share some of what I have done.

Please ignore the plastic wrap in the corner.  I just unwrapped this plate to take the picture.  I also had to put some chocolate-containing cookies in a baggie (seen peeking out from under the gingerbread cookie) to protect my dad from the chocolate.

Chuck's favorite was the Spritz Cookies.  First I made a batch using this recipe from Gluten Free Homemaker.  They were good but they had the typical texture and flavor of cookies made with white rice flour (I really don't like white rice flour.).  I adjusted the recipe to make it less gritty and crumbly, and more like the texture and flavor I remember from when I used to make gluten-filled ones (also added whole grains).  I don't know if I will be adjusting this recipe further to make it lower-carb.  We really liked it the way it was, and I'm not sure that the higher protein flours I use (blanched almond flour and coconut flour) would provide the right texture dough to use in the spritz gun.  I will have to think about it.  However, I am not completely anti-carbs.  I just try to limit how much we have, so in moderation I think it's ok.

Then I made Gingerbread Cookies using a recipe I found at Only Sometimes Clever.  I mostly stuck to her version since I usually try to make the original once before I start making changes.  However, I did substitute teff flour for the amaranth since I love teff flour and hate amaranth, and also because I think the color and flavor of teff flour really goes with molasses and gingerbread.  I used Authentic Foods Brown Rice Flour Superfine (I found it at Wegmans), which doesn't give baked goods the gritty texture usually associated with brown rice flour.  I also had to increase the liquid in the recipe by about 1/4 cup, which I did gradually, 1 Tbs at a time.  Please note if you make these cookies, the dough really dries out fast, so make sure you cover the dough that is waiting to be rolled out as you are working with other dough.  If it does dry out, you can add 1 Tbs. of water and knead it in.  We really liked these cookies.  I will definitely make these again, though I will be trying to change the recipe to be more "carb-friendly."   

You may note that I didn't decorate my gingerbread cookies.  What can I say?  I'm a minimalist when it comes to cookies.  I don't really like frosting (I make it for the benefit of those who do), and I don't feel the need for candies and extra sugars on cookies.  I did let my kids decorate cookies, but by the time I got to the gingerbread ones, the kids had lost interest in baking and were on to more "fun" things!  LOL!  If I could find my gingerbread boy cookie cutter, the kids and I might have decided to add eyes and things, but I couldn't, so we didn't!  If you want to decorate your gingerbread cookies, by all means, please do!

I made a batch of cookies using a Kinnikinnick cookie mix.  I dipped them in cinnamon-sugar for the kids.  They were ok, though not as good as the from-scratch cookies I made.

I made a couple of batches of my Raspberry Bars Supreme, which turned out great.

Lastly I made several batches of Christmas Wreath Cookies that my grandmother always used to make.  My sister had mentioned to me that she was making them, and I was very glad to get the recipe from her since I had been thinking of them myself as memories from childhood Christmases had been coming to mind.  Again, definitely not low-carb and not really able to be made in that way.  However, we don't usually eat a lot of cookies, so it's ok for special occasions.


I will include my recipe for GF Spritz Cookies here now, and I'll share the recipes for several other cookies some time soon.  Enjoy!

GF Spritz Cookies
2/3 c. sugar
1 c. non-hydrogenated shortening* (I filled the cup mostly with shortening and then finished filling it with
     Earth Balance baking sticks or ghee to get a buttery taste without casein)
1 egg
1 t. vanilla extract
1/2 t. almond extract (or add'l vanilla)**
a few drops red or green food coloring (optional)
2 c. Sarah's Sorghum-Millet All-Purpose Flour Blend (see below)
3/4 t. xanthan gum
1/2 t. salt
sugar sprinkles (optional)

Preheat your oven to 375 F.  Cream the sugar and shortening, then add the egg, vanilla extract, almond extract, and food coloring, mixing well.  Mix in the dry ingredients well.  Spoon the dough into your spritz gun.  Spritz the cookies onto your cool, ungreased cookie sheet.  (These cookies don't really spread, so don't worry about having to space them far apart from each other.)  If you want to add sprinkles to your cookies, sprinkle them on and gently, lightly press them onto the cookies.  Bake for 6-8 minutes, just until the edges turn slightly golden.

*I never use Crisco!  I use non-hydrogenated shortening.  There are several brands out there.  I have used Spectrum and Tropical Traditions, each with equally good results.  They are much better for you than the hydrogenated shortenings that are so popular.  If you can have dairy, you can use butter instead of shortening and margarine.  Ghee will also give a butter flavor because it is clarified butter, but it is lactose and casein free.  It's expensive, so I mix it with shortening.

**One variation my husband especially liked was my red spritz cookies.  Instead of using the almond extract, I used 1/4 t. peppermint oil.  I'm thinking about melting some dairy-free chocolate chips and dipping some of these halfway into the melted chocolate!  mmmm!

Sarah's Sorghum-Millet All-Purpose Flour Blend


I know I have mentioned my sister, Sarah, before.  I got this recipe from her.  She uses it for pretty much everything, now, instead of the previous blend she had given me that I shared before.  She doubles or triples this recipe and stores it in gallon-sized ziploc bags.

3 c. sorghum flour
1 c. millet flour
1 1/3 c. potato starch
2/3 c. tapioca starch

On Monday we'll be traveling to Chattanooga, Tennessee to go to a teen conference called, The Ramp. Hubby and I are going with our church youth group--we're chaperones!  I will have to do some baking and shopping to prepare for that over the next couple of days.  Believe me, it's not gonna be easy going on a 5-day trip with 3 kids and myself needing to eat gluten free and mostly dairy free!  My brother-in-law is being gracious and will be house-sitting and will take care of our beloved dog and cats.  We are so blessed!

Raspberry Bars Supreme

Today has been a good day for me.  I spent time preparing for a Bible study that my husband and I do, then I baked these delicious raspberry bars that received rave reviews!  Before I share my recipe, let me say that I have been reading 1,000 Gluten Free Recipes by Carol Fenster.  I haven't tried very many of her recipes, yet, but I do plan on trying some.  I did, however, make her Raspberry Bars, which were good, but very rich and sweet for my taste.  Everyone loved them, but you know me.  I have made it my goal to cut down on the starches and carbs in my life for several reasons:
     1.  They make me gain weight.
     2.  Too many simple carbs and starches in your diet may lead to Diabetes.
     3.  I have lots of friends and relatives who have Diabetes and can't eat my GF Recipes unless they are 
          low-carb.
     4.  I know there are a lot of people out there who have both Celiac Disease/Gluten Intolerance and
          Diabetes.  They are discouraged because they can't eat most of the GF recipes and goodies out there.
     5.  I want to train my children to eat healthy and set them up for a healthy adult life.
I want to create recipes that everyone can enjoy!  Tasty treats that make people want to come back for more, that are still healthy.

Anyway, so I tried Carol's Raspberry Bars.  They tasted good, but it seems that most of her recipes call for her flour blend, which is more starch than it is flour, and this recipe is no exception.  I decided to make my own version, and I think I've finally arrived at a delicious bar that everyone loves.  In fact, one of my toughest critics came back asking for more!

On a side note, sadly the pomegranates I posted about the other day did not make it to another salad that I could document and photograph a recipe of to share.  We ate up all the pomegranate seeds plain and have decided that we simply must make another trip to Wegmans to purchase more!  I'm sure I will post a recipe at some time in the future, perhaps when the initial novelty of eating them straight wears off, and we have the patience to wait for me to actually make something with them!

Please bear with my picture taking skills.  I know that the picture below doesn't do these bars justice, but until I am able to take a photography class or something...

Without further ado, here is my latest recipe:

Raspberry Bars Supreme
2 c. blanched almond flour--or try almond meal or even just processing almonds in your processor with the
       dates--if you try processing them, let us know how it works out for you by posting a comment
8 pitted Deglet dates
1/2 c. melted coconut oil
1/4 c. honey or agave nectar--agave nectar is lower on the glycemic index
1 t. vanilla--make sure it's GF
2 1/2 c. GF whole rolled oats--I use Bob's Red Mill
3/4 t. dried lemon zest/peel--or zest a lemon yourself, not sure how much fresh zest to use
1/2 t. sea salt

1 1/3 c. raspberry preserves (I like the Polaner All Fruit, or Crofter's)
3/4 c. chopped walnuts
1/2 c. unsweetened shredded dried coconut
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips* (Ghirardelli makes DF semi-sweet chips, or use Enjoy Life DF, GF, SF
      semi-sweet chocolate chips)

Preheat the oven to 375 F.  Grease a 9x13 pan, line with parchment paper (leaving a little paper overlapping the ends of the pan), and lightly grease the parchment paper.  Process the almond flour and dates in your food processor until the dates are finely chopped and processed into the flour, making sure not to process long enough to turn the flour into almond butter.  In a small bowl, whisk the oil, honey, and vanilla.  In the bowl of your stand mixer, pour your oats, lemon zest, and salt and start mixing.  As they are mixing, add the almond flour mixture and the oil mixture.  Mix until everything is well incorporated.

Gently press half, or slightly more than half, of the mixture into the bottom of your prepared baking pan.  Then evenly spread the raspberry preserves on top of the bottom layer.

Add the chopped walnuts and shredded coconut to the remaining mixture that is still in your mixing bowl.  Mix until it is well incorporated.  Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the raspberry preserves layer in your baking dish and gently pat it down.  Sprinkle on the chocolate chips and pat down into the topping.

Bake at 375 F for 30-35 minutes, or until the topping is golden.  Remove pan from oven and place on a cooling rack.  Cool in pan.  Remove from the pan after cooled or mostly cooled by gently lifting on the parchment paper at either end of the pan.  Place back on cooling rack if not completely cooled.  Cut into bars after completely cooled.  OR, if you're like my family, you can eat this warm.  It is harder to cut and crumbles a little more, but it's very yummy!

*This got rave reviews.  Everyone loved the bars with the chocolate, though a few commented that the chocolate was unnecessary--the bars would be just as good without!

Final Notes and Giveaways:
One of my favorite GF recipe site is www.thespunkycoconut.com  I love looking at Kelly's recipes and photos.  Everything looks so good, and she uses very little refined sugars and mostly high-protein flours, like almond flour and coconut flour, which I love to use myself.  Kelly recently published her second cookbook, The Spunky Coconut Grain-Free Baked Goods and Desserts.  While I have not personally looked at this book or tried very many of her recipes, rather just drooling over them and gathering ideas (I'm too busy to spend a whole lot of time baking right now), I think this cookbook would be really great for someone who has to eat GF and low-carb.

That said, Shirley, over at Gluten Free Easily, another great recipe site, is hosting a free giveaway for this very cookbook.  Click here to learn how to enter the giveaway!

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Lori