WHOLEmade

Gluten-free Pumpkin Bread Recipe

Kim Wilson — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 17:12:08 +0000

Now, I know I probably should wait till the fall to post this recipe, but it is so good I want to be sure to get it up and available to people (and, besides, this blog functions kind of like my personal recipe book, so if I want to be sure to find it in the future, I need to post it here!)

So how did I end up creating a pumpkin bread recipe during the first week of June? I get pretty serious about spring cleaning at my house and I go through pretty much everything, including my pantry. I found a number of cans of pumpkin puree left from the holidays and thought I really should find a great way to use them up without waiting for Thanksgiving. I’ve made pumpkin biscuits a fair bit, but I wanted a pumpkin cookie or pumpkin bread and this is the recipe that came as a result.

It’s actually a very mild pumpkin bread. The pumpkin doesn’t come through as strongly as the spice does and the spice isn’t overpowering either. I tried it plain and with walnuts. I think it would also be great with raisins or chocolate chips even.

And you’ll notice the recipe uses a full can of pumpkin. Most pumpkin-related recipes ask for a partial can- but that drives me nuts! What am I going to do with the rest of the can? So, one of the main goals with this recipe (0ther than great flavor and texture and minimal oil and sweetener) was to use a full can of pumpkin.

Gluten-free Pumpkin Bread Recipe

1 cup brown rice or teff flour

3/4 cup oat or sorghum flour

1/2 cup light buckwheat or sorghum flour

1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice

1-2 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

3/4- 1 tsp. sea salt

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1/3 cup honey or maple syrup

1/3 cup coconut oil or olive oil

2-3 Tbsp. molasses

1 Tbsp. raw apple cider vinegar

2 Tbsp. water (I use hot water to soften the oil)

15 oz. can pumpkin puree

1/4 cup ground flax

opt: 3/4 cup nuts, raisins or chocolate chips

Combine ingredients above line (dry ingredients) in a large bowl. Combine ingredients below line (wet ingredients) in another container. Whisk together until smooth. Add wet mixture to dry ingredients and combine briefly (don’t overmix- you want to keep all the leavening power possible). Fold in nuts, raisins or chocolate chips if desired.

Pour into a loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for at least 1 hour. I have made it in Pampered Chef mini loaf baking stones and I bake them for just 40 minutes. Allow the loaf/loaves to rest for at least 1/2 hour before attempting to cut.

AS ALWAYS, you can count on my recipes being incredibly wholesome, exceptionally tasty and as simple and economical as possible. They feature only plant-based whole foods and avoid gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, sugar and any refined/processed ingredients. If this sounds good to you, check out some of my books at Simply Natural Health or download my immensely popular ebook Good and Easy Eats for just $4.99!

This blog post shared at Frugal By Choice, Simply Sugar and Gluten-free, Nourishing Treasures, My Sweet and Savory, Whole Lifestyle Nutrition, Gluten-free Pantry, Gluten-free Homemaker, Fresh Foods Wednesday, Day 2 Day Joys, Poor and Gluten-free, GNOWFGLINS, The Veggie Nook, Natural Cottage Mama, Vegetarian Mamma and Real Food Whole Health.

Guest Post on a Non-food Topic

Kim Wilson — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 21:37:32 +0000

You know that my posts here at WHOLEmade are essentially short and sweet recipe posts. Recently, however, I got invited to share a monthly guest post at Day2Day Joys. This is a neat opportunity to share some non-recipe oriented diet and health posts at a faith-based site, so I accepted. My first post is up and running today and you might want to check it out. The topic is Isn’t Exercise An Optional Activity? Rachel, at Day2Day Joys, has done a fabulous job formatting and embellishing my post so it looks and reads really great. I hope you take a chance to check it out here. As a bonus, you’ll find a handy printable download that might just be what you need in finding a physical activity that’s an enjoyable match for you.

The Newly Updated Clean/Dirty Lists

Kim Wilson — Fri, 31 May 2013 19:08:04 +0000

Each year the Environmental Working Group analyzes the pesticide residue tests of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration and develops “Dirty Dozen” and “Clean Fifteen” lists of popular produce items based on these results. These are helpful for the cost-conscious health-minded consumer, because it helps us prioritize which items we should definitely purchase organic and those items that we can purchase commercially without as great a concern for our pesticide exposure.

Here I’ll share the two lists (I’ve expanded the dirty dozen to 15 items, using the EWG’s information)

Clean Fifteen (fewest trace pesticides) in sequence of “cleanest” to “less so”

sweet corn
onions
pineapple
avocados
cabbage
sweet peas
papayas
mango
asparagus
eggplant
kiwi
grapefruit
canteloupe/melons
sweet potatoes
mushrooms

Dirty Dozen (well 15) (most trace pesticides) from most offensive to less so

apples
strawberries
grapes
celery
peaches
spinach
bell peppers/hot peppers
nectarines
cucumbers
potatoes
cherry tomatoes
blueberries (domestic)
lettuce
kale/collard greens
summer squash

Be sure to check out my newsletter, Wholesome Tidbits, to get some tips on how to remember these lists, plus a broader look at the benefits of buying organic.

Special Blend for Cooking Dry Beans

Kim Wilson — Tue, 07 May 2013 22:13:48 +0000

Certain ingredients can be added to cooking beans to improve their digestibility and nutritional content. Over the years I’ve added each of these herb, spices and other ingredients individually to each batch I make. Recently it occurred that I should make up a bulk batch and simply add a tablespoon of the mixture to each pot of beans. Yay- it’s works great and saves time, so I’ll share the recipe here. Be watching for my next newsletter article on cooking beans from dry. If you haven’t previously signed up for my free newsletter, be sure to visit Simply Natural Health and do so!

Special Blend for Cooking Dry Beans

1/2 cup ground cumin

1/2 cup dulse flakes (or other sea veggie)

1/4 cup ground turmeric

2+ Tbsp. powdered or granulated kelp

opt: ground cayenne, garlic, ginger, coriander, fennel, dried oregano, rosemary, sage, parsley*

Combine all ingredients a canning jar or other tight-sealing container. Add 1+ Tbsp. (to taste) to each 1 lb. of dry beans before cooking.

* Each of these additions will add a different character to the blend. The original blend is basic and fairly neutral in flavor.

This recipe is based on information on cooking beans from Kim’s book, Everyday Wholesome Eating- over 150 simple, plant-based whole food recipes plus all the basic information you need to get started with wholesome eating.

AS ALWAYS, you can count on my recipes being incredibly wholesome, exceptionally tasty and as simple and economical as possible. They feature only plant-based whole foods and avoid gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, sugar and any refined/processed ingredients. If this sounds good to you, check out more at Simply Natural Health or download my immensely popular ebook Good and Easy Eats for just $4.99!

This blog post shared at Frugal By Choice, Simply Sugar and Gluten-free, Nourishing Treasures, My Sweet and Savory, Whole Lifestyle Nutrition, Gluten-free Pantry, Gluten-free Homemaker, Fresh Foods Wednesday, Day 2 Day Joys, Poor and Gluten-free, Beyond the Peel, GNOWFGLINS, The Veggie Nook, Natural Cottage Mama, Vegetarian Mamma and Real Food Whole Health.

Newly Updated (and Expanded) Guide!

Kim Wilson — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:13:41 +0000

A series of events (including running out of inventory and realizing I didn’t have any of the template paper with which I’ve printed the Candida Guide for years) led to a bit of revision and expansion of the guide. Plus a new cover! I figured if I had to create a new cover, I might as well make the interior new in one way or another.

If you’re not familiar with the Candida Companion Guide, it was originally designed to provide people with the understanding and tools to deal with the all-too-common health issue of candidiasis, through diet and lifestyle change. What I’ve learned over the years, however, is that the plan I’ve developed actually has broader application to a number of health issues. So if you’re dealing with an inflammatory disease or a chronic degenerative disease, you could find some very practical encouragement in these pages.

Or, if you are simply interested in taking your health and energy to the next level with a really great cleansing program, this guide fits the bill as well.

So there might be a couple of reasons you might be interested in taking a more careful look at this new updated book. You can click here for a sample of the book.

Some of the new additions to the guide include:

a personal symptom checklist
a section addressing concerns with weight loss
ten recipes hand-selected for their compatibility with the dietary suggestions described in the plan

So if you’re ready to tackle a health-overhaul this spring, this guide would be a great place to start. The new expanded edition is only $11.95.

Gluten-free Buckwheat Flatbread

Kim Wilson — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 16:12:45 +0000

I’m working on an updated, slightly expanded version of my Candida Companion Guide and decided to include a few recipes in the book. In the guide I discuss what foods are GREAT, GOOD, and HARMFUL in the quest to defeat candidasis. Non-starchy vegetables are GREAT, yet most grains are not recommended as they often become food for the yeast. I do recommend three “alternative” grains that can be eaten in moderation in the healing plans I describe. These three grains are millet, quinoa and buckwheat.

Buckwheat has a unique flavor and, to me, it often seems to overpower other flavors in a recipe. Recently I had the idea to play around with raw buckwheat a bit and see if I couldn’t develop a tasty bread out of it, but I knew it would require finding a way to mellow this flavor a bit. So I began by soaking the grain (which not only mellows the flavor of a grain but also increases the digestibility and nutritional value of it). Then I blended the grain with water and let it sit overnight to encourage a bit of natural culturing. The next day I added a couple more ingredients before baking. And we were all so pleased and amazed that the bread had quite a neutral flavor.

We’ve made this bread (in one variation or another) for a couple of months now, so I consider it a success and want to share it with you all as well as include it in the new edition of the Candida Companion Guide. I’m sure those that undertake the cleansing program described in the book will be encouraged with this tasty bread option!

Gluten-free Buckwheat Flatbread

The buckwheat referred to in this recipe is whole raw hulled buckwheat. It is naturally light in color in contrast to kasha (whole buckwheat that is roasted and brown in color) and traditional buckwheat flour (which is ground with the hulls intact and is grayish in color).

PREP: Soak 1 ½ cup raw hulled buckwheat* in plenty of water plus 1 Tbsp. of raw apple cider vinegar or lemon juice overnight (or for at least 8 hours).

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Next day:
1 cup water
1 Tbsp. olive oil (or coconut oil)
½ tsp. sea salt
1 ½ tsp. baking powder

Drain and rinse the buckwheat. Add to a blender with the water, oil and sea salt. Blend until smooth. Pour into a glass or ceramic bowl and cover with a tea cloth or paper towel. Ideally allow this mixture to sit overnight. It will begin to culture which not only mellows the flavor of the buckwheat but improves the texture and nutritional value of the bread.

When ready to bake, preheat baking stones or cast iron skillets to 400 degrees. Whisk baking powder into mixture and pour onto oiled stones/skillets. Bake for 15 minutes. (Once batch of this recipe is the perfect amount for use in the Pampered Chef large bar pan baking stone).
* This bread can also be prepared with a combination of millet and buckwheat- in equal portions or up to 1 cup millet and ½ cup buckwheat.

Optional: The surface of the baking stone can be sprinkled with sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, poppy seeds or any combination of such prior to pouring on the batter.

Note: If you are short on time and don’t want to wait for the batter to begin to culture overnight you can add 1 Tbsp. raw apple cider vinegar or lemon juice, or even up to ¼ cup kefir water (replacing some of the water), after blending and allow the batter to sit for just a couple of hours before baking.

This is such a great easy, highly-nutritious bread option. If you simply think ahead the evening before (to set the grains to soak) it’s incredibly fast and easy to whip up the next day (or the following, depending upon how long you allow it to culture).

We often have soup for lunch (especially during the cooler months) and this is such a quick easy accompaniment. It can also be used as a pizza crust and for making sandwiches. Just cut into squares to use for sandwich making.

Here’s a photo of where I’ve used the buckwheat flatbread to make a grilled cheese (imagine- grilled cheese!) sandwich with my new Good and Easy Cheese recipe (to be released soon!)

This blog post shared at Frugal By Choice, Simply Sugar and Gluten-free, Nourishing Treasures, My Sweet and Savory, Whole Lifestyle Nutrition, Gluten-free Pantry, Gluten-free Homemaker, Fresh Foods Wednesday, Day 2 Day Joys, Poor and Gluten-free, Beyond the Peel, GNOWFGLINS, The Veggie Nook, Natural Cottage Mama, Vegetarian Mamma and Real Food Whole Health.

Up and Running on Amazon

Kim Wilson — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 15:31:11 +0000

I’m so pleased to have Everyday Wholesome Eating and Everyday Wholesome Eating In the Raw available on Amazon now. They even qualify for Free Super Saver Shipping (isn’t that cool)! But they’re looking awful lonely there, with no reviews. I don’t know about you, but I depend heavily upon reviews when I’m ready to place an order for an item.

I thought maybe I could offer a coupon to folks that post a review to the site, but after a little investigation I learned that it’s against the rules for an Amazon merchant to “bribe” customers for reviews.

So I’m at the mercy of the goodness of your hearts. It would be so wonderful if some of you out there who have enjoyed my recipes, blog and books might write a review for either or both of these books.

And you know it’s not even as time-consuming as getting out a pen and pad of paper. Just visit the books at Amazon and type in your review. If you’ve never done one before you’ll be amazed how easy it is!

THANKS!

My Award-Winning Vegetarian Chili Recipe

Kim Wilson — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 19:49:53 +0000

I’ve been working for a few months on a new cheese recipe I’m really excited about. I’ve also been working on recipes that use the cheese recipe- like a chili cheese dip that is reminiscent of the horribly unhealthy version my husband and I would make on movie night when we were first married. We’d combine a can of Hormel chili with a block of Velveeta cheese and a chopped onion, and bake into gooey mass. And then scarf it down with a bag of tortilla chips. Yes, really. That’s how we used to used to eat and that’s why my husband weighed almost 300 pounds (if you’ve never seen our “Before” and “After” photos you should check them out here).

Well, what’s this got to do with a chili recipe, you might ask? As I am writing up the recipes I wanted to include a link to my chili recipe for the chili cheese dip and realized I have never posted my really popular award-winning chili recipe to my blog. Subscribers get it free with a subscription to my newsletter, but amazingly (to me) I found I’d never posted it here on my blog. So here it is.

And why do I call it “award-winning”? Well that’s a neat story. A number of years ago a friend lent her copy of my first book, Everyday Wholesome Eating, to another friend. That friend soon after went on an extended motorcycle trip. At a motorcycle rally she made this vegetarian chili recipe for the chili cook-off at the rally- and won!

So if a vegan chili can win at a motorcycle chili cook-off, I figure it’s got to be pretty good. My die-hard carnivore father says it’s one of his favorites and he never misses the meat.

Kim’s Award-Winning Vegetarian Chili

2 tbsp. oil/butter

3-4 onions, chopped

6 cloves garlic, crushed

2 Tbsp. chili powder

2 tsp. oregano

2 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

pinch of cayenne

1 1/2 tsp. sea salt

28 oz. can tomatoes

5 cans/7 cups of beans- kidney, black beans, cannelini, etc. (lightly drained)

Saute onions and garlic in oil. Add seasonings, then tomatoes and beans. Simmer for at least 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

This chili is great served with brown rice, cornbread or just tortilla chips and salsa.

Leftover chili is great reheated with some cornbread of used to top salads or baked potatoes.

Chili makes a great company meal and potluck contribution.

This recipe is also found in Kim’s book, Everyday Wholesome Soup- with a soup, stew and chowder recipe for each week of the year plus over 30 accompaniments. Available at Simply Natural Health.

This blog post shared at Frugal By Choice, Simply Sugar and Gluten-free, Nourishing Treasures, My Sweet and Savory, Whole Lifestyle Nutrition, Gluten-free Pantry, Gluten-free Homemaker, Fresh Foods Wednesday, Day 2 Day Joys, Poor and Gluten-free, Beyond the Peel, GNOWFGLINS, The Veggie Nook, Natural Cottage Mama, Vegetarian Mamma and Real Food Whole Health.

Last Chance

Kim Wilson — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 14:50:47 +0000

This week I’ve finally forced myself to sit down and do something I’ve been meaning to do for years- get my books listed on Amazon. Good and Easy Eats has been available there from the start, but none of my “in print” books had been. It’s a little overwhelming at first (hence why I’ve had the instructions printed out for about three years but had never quite gotten to it) but now that I’ve done it for two of my books, I’m encouraged to keep going and get the rest listed.

One requirement for listing with Amazon, however, is that you have to offer the books on your own web site for the actual listed retail price. I’ve always tried to give my customers ordering from our site a bit of a discount. So, I’ll be up and running with Amazon probably within the week, but I’m going to have to increase the prices on our site.

So I’m offering a last-chance reduced price on Everyday Wholesome Eating and Everyday Wholesome Eating in the Raw. For a limited time, both are offered for just $12.50 each (22% off the retail price!).

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Recipe (Dairy-free)

Kim Wilson — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 13:13:33 +0000

This recipe is a follow-up to my Shamrock Shake/Minty Smoothie recipe. When I made it last week I thought to myself- “With a little tweaking, this could become a fabulous mint chocolate chip ice cream!” So tweak I did! And after just two trials (which the family “suffered” through) I hit upon a version I really like. This is more soft-serve consistency than hard ice cream, but the flavor and creaminess are perfect and really satisfy for those mint chocolate chip ice cream lovers out there! This time around I had some tiny chocolate chips from the local co-op that worked perfect for this application, but you could use larger chocolate chips, carob chips or even cacao nibs in this recipe.

I realized that this recipe could be called “Spinach Avocado Ice Cream”- but then who would even give it a try?! That would sound awful. But I’m consistently amazed how the raw materials we have to work with (whole, plant-based foods) can be transformed into the textures and flavors of familiar SAD foods. So we get the enjoyment of a comfort food without all the harmful ingredients. Instead we build our health with all the great fats, fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytonutrients naturally found in these great ingredients.

This recipe is made simply with a heavy-duty blender. No ice-cream maker necessary, though if you had one you could add the mixture to it and enjoy this ice-cream in hard form.

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

1 cup water

2/3 cup walnuts

1 avocado, pitted and peel removed

3 Tbsp. maple syrup (more or less, to taste)

1 tsp. peppermint extract

opt: 1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 handfuls of baby spinach*

4 frozen bananas

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Add all but the frozen bananas and chocolate chips to a heavy-duty blender. Blend until smooth and then add the frozen bananas and blend until smooth again (as briefly as possible, so you’re able to keep the mixture as frosty as possible). Lastly blend or fold in the chocolate chips before serving. Serve right away. If you have some leftover (fat chance!) you can freeze and defrost to enjoy later.

*if this sounds too freaky to you (adding spinach to an ice cream recipe!) then you can certainly leave it off. The avocado alone contributes a nice green hue. I like including the spinach for the nutritional benefits, but also it doesn’t really impact the flavor at all and it further intensifies the green. If no one watches you make this, they really won’t believe what it is made from!

This recipe will undoubtedly find it’s way into one of Kim’s Good and Easy Eats collections of recipes. If you’d like more simple, incredibly wholesome recipes, you can check out more at Simply Natural Health or download my immensely popular ebook Good and Easy Eats for just $4.99!

This blog post shared at Frugal By Choice, Nourishing Treasures, My Sweet and Savory, Whole Lifestyle Nutrition, Gluten-free Pantry, Gluten-free Homemaker, Fresh Foods Wednesday, Day 2 Day Joys, Poor and Gluten-free, Beyond the Peel, GNOWFGLINS, The Veggie Nook, Natural Cottage Mama, Vegetarian Mamma and Real Food Whole Health.