Single Serving Apple Crisp

Yesterday while I was scrolling though Pinterest I saw a photo of some delicious looking apple crisp. I love anything with oats in it, and I think it goes really well with the apples, but hadn't made any since cutting out dairy and refined sugar from my diet. That gave me the inspiration to make my own version, but this one would be a single portion and wouldn't have gluten, dairy, or sugar in it.

Basically just threw in a few simple ingredients that I thought would taste good and microwaved it. It turned out great one the first try! And it's perfect for not just a quick and simple dessert, but makes a great snack as well. 

Every time I've made it I've just eyeballed the ingredients, but here are the approximate measurements for a jumping point:

Ingredients:
1/2 of an apple, chopped into bite sized pieces
1/2-3/4 cup rolled oats
Up to 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
Combine all ingredients into a bowl and microwave until hot, stirring every 45 seconds. 

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If you can have dairy, you could add a little butter in it, or even coconut oil to add some flavor. The next time I made it I'm going to add some flax meal to it to make it even better for you.

Ginger Cookies

Although my mom and brother love it, I don't care for pumpkin. I know how much everyone seems to love it, but I've never been a fan, so ginger is my favorite fall flavor. Back before my food allergies, I had this amazing ginger snap recipe that I loved, and since gingersnaps are one of my favorite types of cookies I set out to find a Paleo one. After looking at several recipes via Google I settled on these ginger cookies from The Detoxinista. Along with being sugar, dairy, and gluten free they also use any eggs, therefore they're that perfect recipe to make when you feel like baking but just happen to be all out of eggs. I've made them a couple times now and modified them a tad to fit my taste. One batch makes around 15 cookies, so if you have any ginger lovers in your house they're not going to last long!



Ginger Cookies
modified from The Detoxinista

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup almond flour
2 tablespoons coconut oil, softened

1/4 pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until combined.

2. Chill in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes.

3. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using rounded sized tablespoons of dough, roll into balls and flatten slightly into disks.

4. Bake for 8 minutes, or until firm around the edges but soft in the middle. You can also cook them a little longer for a more crispy cookie. Let cool 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Serve and enjoy!

Cinnamon Muffins

Until discovering this recipe, I had never been able to make a gluten-free muffin with quite the same texture as a regular muffin. Most of the recipes are much more dense, especially the ones with coconut flour, but this these cinnamon muffins are light and airy.

Banana Bread, Nom Nom!

Banana bread is one of those foods that I forget how much I love it until I make it each time. My mom had this really simple recipe she would make whenever we had really ripe bananas on hand or as a treat for our Starbucks break while at the mall on Black Friday. It was soooo good! Then a few years ago, when discovered her gluten allergy came up with gluten-free version. That was good, but it wasn't until this spring, after finding out about my dairy allergy and cutting sugar out of my diet, that I found this delicious recipe.

This recipe is Paleo, so it doesn't have any gluten, dairy, sugar, or grains. In fact the only sweetness comes from the bananas, which makes it even better. It's really simple to make and whips up real quick, especially if using a Vitamix, AKA my favorite kitchen appliance. The hardest part is waiting for it to cool, but I think it's actually best when it's still slightly warm.

For all you banana bread lovers you can find the recipe at Civilized Caveman Cooking Creations.