Granola Bars

2 cups old fashioned oats (gluten-free Bob's Red Mill)
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup raw pecans
1 cup sliced or chopped raw almonds
1 cup unsweetened coconut
1 cup applesauce
1 cup honey
1/3 cup sunflower oil
1 Tbsp chia seeds
2 Tbsp ground flax soaked in 3 Tbsp hot water
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1.5 cups assorted dried fruit or raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toast the oats, sunflower seeds, coconut and nuts on a large stoneware pan or jelly roll pan for 30 minutes, stirring every 5-10 minutes. Remove from oven and then turn oven down to 300 degrees.

Combine applesauce, honey, sunflower oil, and chia seeds in a large mixing bowl. Combine flax and hot water together in a small bowl. After 5 minutes, combine the flax with the applesauce mixture. Stir in salt and cinnamon. Cut up any large pieces of dried fruit into 1/4 inch pieces.

When the oat mixture is finished toasting, remove from pan and stir it into the applesauce mixture until thoroughly moistened. Then stir in the dried fruit.

Prepare your jelly roll or stoneware pan by greasing with butter or vegetable oil. Then spread the mixture evenly onto the pan with a large spatula and firm it down. Bake at 300 degrees for 40 minutes.

Let cool, then cut into squares.

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins (gluten-free and vegan)

1.5 cups old fashioned gluten-free oats (ground to a flour in food processor or blender)
1.25 cups Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose Flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp ground flax seed soaked in 2 Tbsp warm water
1 cup apple sauce
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp chia seeds
1/2 cup sunflower oil
1 cup fresh blueberries

Directions

Soak chia seeds in the 1/2 cup of water. Soak the flax seeds in the 2 Tbsp water. Set aside for 15 minutes.

Mix dry ingredients in large bowl of a stand mixer. (Or you can just mix by hand.)

Combine the applesauce with the soaked chia seeds and ground flax mixture. Mix in the sunflower oil.

Add wet ingredients to the dry and blend until combined. Gently stir in the blueberries.

Line muffin tin with paper muffin liners.

Bake at 350 degrees approx 20 minutes

Chocolate Coconut Cookies!

This recipe is based on one from The Gluten-Free Vegan cookbook by Susan O'Brien. I have only made them once so far, but this is an amazing recipe. Everyone who tried these loved them. They taste more like chocolate candy than a cookie. But we can pretend : ) The good news is that they have some pretty healthy ingredients.

Chocolate Coconut Cookies

1/2 cup coconut
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup pitted and chopped Medjool dates
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/4 cup almond butter
2 Tbsp agave nectar or honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

1. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (or waxed paper)
2. Toast the coconut: Heat a small skillet on the burner over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, add the coconut and , with a wooden spoon or spatula, stir it around in the pan until is starts to brown. Don't let it burn, just toast it lightly. Remove from the heat and set aside.
3. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler and, when it has melted, place it in a large bowl to cool slightly. Add the rest of the ingredients including the coconut, and mix until thoroughly blended.
4. Drop by spoonfuls on the prepared platter and refrigerate until completely cooled.

Lemon Chia Seed Bread

I just made this for the first time today. It tastes just like lemon-poppy seed bread, but it is much healthier. No gluten and sweetened with Agave nectar. Here is the original recipe I found on a website. I made a few minor changes and may make some more after more experimentation. I used more liquid than the original recipe and I also used more chia seeds. This is a great recipe because no additional binder such as xanthan gum is necessary. Xanthan gum can be expensive and it may also be an allergen for some people. But so many of the gluten-free mixes on the market contain it. Let me know how this recipe works for you. I bake my in a stoneware loaf pan and it comes right out. I cool it for a bit in the pan on a cooling rack. But since the stoneware is nonstick, the bread doesn't get stuck to the bottom. I have ruined so many loaves until I discovered nonstick stoneware!

Lemon-Chia Seed Bread

1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup oat flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup arrowroot powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup milk
4 Tb lemon juice
3 Tb chia seed
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup agave syrup
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp lemon zest

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper. (Or if you use a stoneware loaf pan, you just need to lightly oil or spray it first.)

2.In a small bowl, place the milk, lemon juice and chia seed. Allow the mixture to sit as this will give the chia seed a chance to begin gelling.

3.In a medium sized bowl, place the first six (dry) ingredients and blend.

3. In a mixing bowl put in your softened butter, agave syrup and blend. Add the eggs and grated lemon peel and blend again. Next add the chia seed mixture and blend. Then slowly add the dry ingredients to the bowl. Mix until just blended taking care not to over mix.

4. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes. Then remove the bread and cover with aluminum foil. Return the loaf to the oven and bake for another 15 minutes or until a pick comes out clean. Allow to cool before serving.