Chocolate Mint Cupcakes

The kids and I made this one for St. Patrick's Day. Chocolate Mint Cupcakes decorated with green sprinkles and paper shamrocks.
These can be made without egg to be vegan. They are diabetic and candida friendly without the icing. I frosted mine this time with a store bought dairy free, fluffy white icing.

What you need:

1/2 cup vegan margarine
1 cup coconut palm sugar
1egg
1/2 cup applesauce
Two drops peppermint oil
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder

Preheat oven to 350. Mix ingredients in order. Pour into cupcake tin, greased or lined with wrappers (it makes 9-10 cupcakes). Bake for 15 - 20 minutes. Cool, decorate and enjoy!

Mini Nacho Cups

This is a fun, kid friendly way to make Nachos. I love a big plate of nachos however, I find that my kids have difficulty scooping up the toppings and dealing with big nacho chips. So, I use Tostitos Scoops and make individual nacho bowls.
For myself I use Daiya dairy free cheese, olives, and top with salsa and guacamole. For my kids I use cheddar cheese, olives, bell pepper and top with salsa, sour cream and guacamole. Use whatever toppings you like best, it is super easy.

Spread the Tostitos Scoops out on a baking sheet, fill with cheese and toppings such as olives, peppers, chicken etc.... Bake at 375 until cheese is melted, 5-7 minutes. Remove from oven and add cool toppings, salsa, sour cream, guacamole. Then plate and serve!

Cranberry Orange Bread - yeast and dairy free

This is a variation on a basic recipe. I will post other variations as I experiment. This is a quick easy breakfast or brunch loaf and it is yeast and dairy free, vegan, as well as diabetic friendly.

3 cups whole wheat flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cups orange juice
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tbs of honey or brown rice syrup (optional, I did not add sweetener and found it sweet enough)
2 tsp orange zest
1/2 cup dried, sugar free cranberries

Mix ingredients together in large bowl or stand mixer adding the cranberries after all other ingredients are mixed. Form into ball and put on lightly floured surface (do not kneed too much), shape into round or oval, score top and bake at 400 for 1/2 hour to 40 minutes or until it is golden brown. Let cool then slice and serve.

Potato Bacon Soup

This is a family favorite of ours. It is a hearty winter soup, it is dairy free and I always make lots so that we can freeze some. I usually make it with reduced sodium bacon, for a healthier alternative use turkey or chicken bacon. To make it vegan, leave out the bacon and add more celery and carrots.
I don't really use exact measurements so bare with me and experiment.

What you need:

Approx 8 large potatoes ( more or less depending on the size and how much soup you want to make)
4-6 cups Vegetable stock (see earlier post, Homemade Vegetable Stock)
1/2 pound cooked, chopped bacon
1/2 a large onion
1 apple
1carrot
1celery stalk
Fresh ground black pepper to taste



In a large pot combine potatoes, onion, apple, carrot and celery. Pour in vegetable stock to cover (if you don't have enough stock add some water), add pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, lower temperature to medium high and boil until the potatoes are tender ( as if you we're making mashed potatoes).
Remove the soup from the heat, using an immersion blender (or food processor) purée the vegetables. Add the bacon and return the soup to a low heat for another ten minutes or so.
I usually make this earlier in the day then leave it on the stove for a while so the bacon flavor infuses a bit more then I reheat it prior to serving.
This is yummy served with a bit of grated cheddar and fresh crusty bread.

Home Made Vegetable Stock

Home made soups are easy, nutritious, and are great for eat half, freeze half for later meals. I find that homemade soups can be made without a stock however, they are richer and generally tastier with a stock as a base. I was on a candida diet and now generally attempt a yeast free diet. So, commercial soup stocks, even a lot of the organic ones contain yeast extract, a ton of sodium and a bunch of other unnecessary ingredients. Solution, make your own. It is not difficult.
Make this when you are making a vegetable heavy meal or, freeze the vegetable scraps from every meal until you have a large ziplock bag full.

What you need:

A large pot
Water
Sea salt or Herbamare seasoning
A large ziplock bags worth of vegetable peelings ( carrot peels, Celery leaves and stalks, onion peels and scraps, potato peels, etc...., whatever you use regularly or have in your kitchen).

Fill a large pot with water, add vegetable peels and 1 tsp of sea salt or Herbamare. Bring to a boil, turn down to medium high and let boil until the water changes to a brownish/greenish colour. You really can't over boil it.
Strain it into another pot to use right away or store in your freezer in tightly sealed containers for later use.

Carrot Pineapple Muffins

This recipe is dairy free, sugar free and can easily be made vegan. It works as a diabetic and candida friendly recipe. The muffins are very moist and it makes about a dozen. We use this as a Sunday morning breakfast served with fruit salad.

What you need:

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1tsp cinnamon
2/3 cup of coconut palm sugar or 1cup of pineapple juice concentrate
2/3 cup of canola oil
3 eggs (or for vegan, 3 tablespoons of ground flax boiled with 9 tablespoons of water, cooled)
1tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup quick oats (uncooked)
1/2 cup flaked unsweetened coconut (optional)
1/2 cup raisins
2 cups shredded carrots
1 cup (or so) diced pineapple (or one can pineapple tidbits drained)


Preheat oven to 350, grease a 12 cup muffin tin.
Mix ingredients in order given. Spoon into greased muffin tins then bake for 20-25 minutes until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean.

Home Made, School Safe Lara Bars

Lara Bars are vegan snack bars made with a base of dates and nuts. I have adapted the recipe to make them nut free and therefore school safe. Making them nut free also makes it easier to take them anywhere for a snack on the go without worrying about nut allergies.
These are sweet and filling. The recipe can be adapted to different flavors, I will probably experiment in the future and post variations.

My School Safe Lara Bars are chocolate.

What you need:

1 cup sunflower seeds (I use roasted and unsalted)
1/4-1/2 cup of vegan chocolate chips
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
2 cups of pitted dates
2 tablespoons of sunflower seed butter


Prepare a small container (approx 8x8 but can be smaller to get thicker bars). lined with waxed or parchment paper. I use a small rectangular Pyrex dish however I have also used a bread pan, cup cake pan and mini brownie pan to make different sized bars.

In a food processor or one shot blender (I use my Magic Bullet for this part because the sunflower seeds are tiny) chop the sunflower seeds and chocolate chips together with the cocoa powder until you have a crumbly mixture. Put this aside.

In a food processor, pulse the dates until they are puréed and form a ball, then add the sunflower seed butter and pulse until mixed. Pour in the seed and chocolate mixture and pulse until all blended together.

Put the mixture into container pressing down and flattening the top. Refrigerate for about an hour. These can be stored in the fridge for about two weeks or out of the fridge for up to 72 hours.