We as a family are in process of going grain-free, meaning we are going to live away from wheat, rice, and corn and I also stay off of potatoes and oats. This is based in supporting what is most optimal for my gut health in regards to my Autoimmune Thyroid Disease and also being preventative for the long-term health of my children, too.
In our search to live grain-free, we discovered many amazing options that still allow us to bake and enjoy yummy foods without the higher sugar impact or inflammatory setback to our gut microbiome. One of our favorite sources we mention several times below is Againstallgrain.com. Her story is impacting and she created a lifestyle of going grain-free out of necessity for her health, too. We can relate!
My husband Dan is the cook of our family and does all of our grocery shopping. He searched high and low, discovered these great finds, and made tweaks to them as needed. We use them daily and wanted to share them with you. Please let us know if you have any questions and tell us which ones are your favorites, too!
-Mindy for the Irish Fam | mindy@mindyirish.com
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<Recipe Disclaimer>
Our mission is to promote what is optimal for the body. We do not use words like “healthy”, “clean”, “good” or “bad”. Instead we talk about whole foods and real foods, focusing on one-ingredient items to nourish the body.
Food has qualities that send information to the body. Each body interprets it differently, so optimal is relative. All food of any quality has energy in the measure of calories, the amount of heat it releases to the body. Please do not think you can free-eat without accountability. These options below offer a better impact on our gut and digestive process, but overeating of ANY food type can still lead to increased levels of body fat!
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Coconut Flour Blueberry Muffins
Recipe Source: Allrecipes.com
Yields: 6 muffins
Ingredients:
Eggs, 3
Butter, 2 tbs
Coconut Milk, 2 tbs
Honey, 2-3 tbs
Blueberries, 8 ounces
Sea Salt, 1/4 tsp
Vanilla Extract, 1/4 tsp
Coconut Flour 1/4 cup
Baking Powder 1/4 tsp
Directions:
- Blend together eggs, butter, coconut milk, coconut flour with baking powder and thoroughly mix into batter until there are no lumps.
- Drain blueberries and dry with paper towels. Add to batter with a spoon.
- Pour batter into muffin cups. Bake at 400-degrees F for 15 minutes.
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German Apple Pancake
Recipe Source: George Bryant (Civilized Caveman)
Yields: 8 Pancakes
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
Total time: 55 minutes
Ingredients:
- 6 eggs
- 1 cup almond milk
- 3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 tsp pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 2 apples, cored and diced
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 tbsp raw organic honey
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- handful of crushed pecans
Instructions:
- Preheat Oven to 425 degrees fahrenheit
- In a large bowl, whisk eggs, almond milk, coconut oil, vanilla, and maple syrup
- In a small bowl, stir coconut flour, nutmeg, and baking soda
- Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients and beat well to combine, set aside while you prepare the apples
- In a small frying pan, heat 2 tbsp coconut oil and raw organic honey
- Stir in cinnamon and nutmeg and juice of 1/2 Lemon and cook for 1 minute
- Add in your apples and sauté until all your apples are nicely coated
- Evenly divide your apple mixture between 8 ramekins greased with coconut oil and then evenly divide your egg mixture on top of the apples between the 8 Ramekins
- Place your Ramekins on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes at 425 and then reduce heat to 375 and cook for an additional 20 minutes
10.Sprinkle with pecans when removed from the oven
- Enjoy
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Grain-Free Sandwich Bread, {How we make sandwiches for our kids!}
Recipe Source: {We can’t recall where we found it!}
Yields: 1 traditional loaf
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp coconut flour, sifted
- 2 tbsp finely ground golden flaxseed
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 6 eggs, separated
- 4 tbsp butter, melted
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a loaf pan with a sheet of parchment paper in loaf pan, buttering the remaining uncovered sides.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift together all dry ingredients, making sure all clumps are smoothed out.
- Separate eggs, adding the yolks to the flour mixture and the whites to a medium mixing bowl.
- Add the melted butter, coconut milk/kefir, and apple cider vinegar/lemon juice to the flour, mixing thoroughly. This will be a very dense, dry mixture.
- Whip egg whites with hand mixer until stiff peaks begin form.
- Fold egg whites into batter.
- Spoon bread batter into a greased loaf pan. Smooth out the top with a spatula so that bread will bake evenly.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes, covering bread with foil the last 5-10 minutes of baking.
- Allow bread to cool for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack and removing from pan.
- Slice and serve with butter, fruit jam, or raw honey. Store any remaining bread in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Tips:
- **If you use kefir instead of coconut milk, eliminate the vinegar.
- It is very important to sift the coconut flour to remove any clumps, as it is a very dense flour.
- Golden flaxseed as it adds a nice color to the bread making it look like a “multi-grain.”
- Whipping the egg whites allows the bread to be more fluffy and “slice-able.”
- This bread is not sweet. Many bread recipes have added honey or sweeteners, but I purposefully left a sweetener out because I try to eliminate as much sugar as possible.
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Grain-Free Coconut Flour Donuts
Recipe Source: Against All Grains
Yields: 1 dozen
Prep Time: 30 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 50 mins
Ingredients:
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil or ghee, melted
- ½ cup coconut milk, warm
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup coconut flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Topping:
- 1 ounce raw cacao butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons coconut butter
- 1 teaspoon honey
Instructions:
- Preheat a doughnut maker. If using a doughnut pan, preheat the oven to 350F and grease the pan liberally with butter.
- Using a stand mixer or electric hand mixer, beat the eggs with the coconut oil on medium-high speed until creamy.
- Add the milk, honey, vinegar, and vanilla and beat again until combined.
- Using a fine mesh sieve or sifter, sift the remaining dry ingredients into the bowl. Beat on high until smooth.
- Scoop the batter into a large ziploc bag, seal the top, and snip one of the bottom corners.
- Pipe the batter into the doughnut mold, filling it completely.
- Cook until the doughnut machine indicator light goes off. For the oven, bake for 17 minutes. Remove the doughnuts and cool on a wire rack. Trim if necessary.
Make the glaze:
- Mix the cacao butter, coconut butter, and honey in a shallow bowl. Place in the freezer for 5 minutes to thicken.
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Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread Oatmeal Bars
Recipe Source: The Healthy Maven
Yields: 9 bars
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Total time: 35 mins
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup oat flour (or ground up rolled oats, gluten-free if necessary)
- 1/2 cup buckwheat flour
- 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 large banana, ripe and mashed
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 cup coconut milk
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- 1 large zucchini
- 1/4 cup of dark chocolate chips
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Grease a 9 x 9 inch baking pan with coconut oil.
- In a large bowl combine oat flour, brown rice flour, rolled oats, baking powder and coconut sugar.
- In a separate bowl combine egg, banana, applesauce, almond milk and coconut oil.
- Add wet ingredients to dry and stir to combine.
- Grate your zucchini and place in a dish towel or several layers of paper towel to squeeze out excess water.
- Stir in zucchini and chocolate chips into batter.
- Add batter to pan and place in oven to bake for 20-25 minutes (may need several minutes longer depending on elevation).
- Remove from oven and let cool for 20 minutes before cutting into bars.
10.Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
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Lemon Poppyseed Pancakes
Recipe Source: The Healthy Maven
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Total time: 25 mins
Serves: 6-8 pancakes depending on size
Ingredients
- 2 cups oat flour (ground up oats)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tbsp organic poppy seeds
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 large organic egg
- 1 tsp lemon flavoring
- 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
- coconut oil for pan
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine oat flour, baking powder, and poppy seeds.
- Add in almond milk, applesauce, egg, lemon flavoring and maple syrup
- If batter is too thick add in a bit more almond milk, but batter should NOT be thin like crepes.
- Spray or melt coconut oil in a large pan over medium heat.
- Add a 1/3 cup of batter to form pancakes.
- Cook until all bubbles have popped (about 3 mins) & flip over for 1 min. Repeat until all batter is used.
- Serve warm with maple syrup, nut butter or berries.
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Coconut Flour Pizza Crust
Recipe Source: The Healthy Home Economist
Yields: Two 8” thin crust pizzas or one 12″x18″
Ingredients:
4 eggs
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese
2 cloves organic garlic, minced
1/4 tsp sea salt
Pizza sauce
Toppings of choice; I like to make mine without dairy and use goat cheese instead!
Instructions:
Whip the eggs in a large bowl with the yogurt and sea salt. Add the coconut flour and whip until very smooth with no lumps. This may take a few minutes to accomplish as it takes some time for the coconut fiber to absorb the liquid. Blend in the onion powder, oregano, basil, garlic, and parmesan cheese.
Line a pizza pan with parchment paper. Gently pour about 1/2 the batter onto the paper lined pan. Use a spatula or other kitchen utensil to spread the batter into an 8-9″ circle that is quite thin (the thinner the better).
Bake at 400F for 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven, add homemade pizza sauce, cheese and other toppings as desired. Place back in the oven on broil for about 8 minutes more.
Repeat this process with the remaining half of the coconut flour batter
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Grain-Free Fudgy Brownies with Dairy-Free Chocolate Icing
Recipe Source: Against All Grain
Yields: 24
Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
-For the Brownies:
- 6 oz Dark Chocolate
- 8 oz Unsalted Butter
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 4 Eggs, large
- 1/2 cup Almond Flour
- 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 3/4 cup Coconut Sugar
-For the Frosting:
- 8 fl oz Coconut Cream
- 1 1/2 cup Dark Chocolate Chips
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
Instructions:
-For the Brownies:
- Preheat the oven to bake at 350 degrees.
- Grease a 9″x13″ glass baking dish with butter or palm shortening, and line with parchment paper for easy removal of the brownies.
- Melt the dark chocolate and the butter over medium low heat, while stirring frequently.
- Add the coconut sugar and the vanilla to the chocolate and butter, and stir until smooth.
- Remove the mixture from the heat, and allow to cool slightly.
- Blend the eggs, chestnut flour, salt, and baking powder in a separate bowl.
- Once the chocolate mixture is cool, pour into the flour mixture, and blend until smooth.
- Pour the batter into the oiled and parchment lined 9″x13″ baking dish.
- Sprinkle the top of the brownies with chocolate chips before baking if desired.
10.Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.
11.Allow the brownies to cool completely before frosting.
-For the Frosting:
- Heat the coconut cream over medium heat until scalded.
- Pour the scalded cream over the dark chocolate chips, and stir until smooth and creamy.
- Stir in the vanilla extract.
- Chill the mixture in the refrigerator until it’s cool.
- Beat the frosting with a hand mixer until whipped and fluffy.
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Coconut Flour Cake with Chocolate Chips
Recipe Source: Fix Your Digestion
Yields: One cake, cut piece sizes as desired
Instructions:
-Preheat oven to 325F
-Thoroughly grease a 9-inch springform pan, or grease and use parchment paper on a 9-inch cake pan.
Ingredients:
-For the cake
1/2 cup coconut flour, sifted
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp sea salt
5 eggs
2 TB raw honey (can use maple syrup for low-FODMAP version)
3 TB ghee or butter, softened
1/2 cup melted coconut oil
1 TB vanilla
-For the topping
2-3 TB ghee or butter
2-3 TB coconut sugar or maple sugar
2-4 TB almond milk, cashew milk or other milk alternative
splash vanilla; (Mindy’s add, I would use coconut milk from the can!)
1/4 cup shredded coconut, toasted
1/4 cup Enjoy Life dark chocolate morsels, mini chips, or mega chunks
The Process:
Toast the coconut for the topping. Bring a small, shallow pan to medium high heat, and add 1/4 cup shredded coconut. Stir continuously until golden brown and gloriously fragrant, being mindful not to let it burn. Pour coconut into a small bowl and set aside.\
Combine the sifted coconut flour, unsweetened coconut shreds, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.
In a large stand mixer, cream together the oil, ghee and honey. Add the vanilla and eggs. With the mixer on low to medium low, add the flour mixture in three to four batches, ensuring it is thoroughly combined, but do not overmix!
Scrape the cake batter into the prepared pan. It should have a smooth, creamy consistency – not super stiff. Coconut flour can be tempermental, and that is why you always want to sift and not overmix.
Bake at 325F until the edges are golden and a knife/toothpick comes out clean, about 15-20 minutes. It is WAY better to undercook a coconut flour cake than to let it over bake for even 30 seconds. That is the difference between rich, gooey decadence and a dry cake.
While the cake is baking, prep the topping.
Bring 2-3 TB ghee to medium high heat in a small saucepan. When melted, whisk in the maple sugar and the vanilla. Stir til incorporated and holding together – almost like a thin caramel sauce. It’s ok if it is a little bit thick, that is what the cashew milks is for. Add enough milk alternative to make a sauce that is thin enough to be pourable.
When the cake comes out of the oven, let it cool for 5 minutes. Pour the sauce all over the top of the cake – it’s ok if it soaks in, in fact, that is glorious! Top with the toasted shredded coconut and the chocolate chips. The chocolate chips will melt slightly into the top of the cake – delicious!
Let the cake sit for 20 minutes before you slice it. It is an amazing cake served warm right out of the oven, and it is also delicious when fully cooled, as a brunch option, a snack or treat, or a non-scandalous dessert.
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Grain-Free Coconut Flour Pancakes
1/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup flaxseed meal (optional)
2 tbls baking power
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup canned coconut milk
1 egg
2 tsp Vanilla
Thanks for stopping by. Please make, eat, and enjoy!
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For questions on the recipes or to request more info on Coaching with Mindy,
please email mindy@mindyirish.com.