Recipe: Gluten Free Buckwheat Brownies

I can't believe it's been a month since my last post. Oops! I thought I would have a lot more time after quitting my day job to post more regularly but I have been keeping busy with kid stuff and freelance work...oh, and getting a bit politically active.  Honestly, what did I do when I had my other job?

Anyway, I'm back (mostly) with this awesome recipe for Gluten Free Buckwheat Brownies from the Alternative Baker book by Alanna Taylor-Tobin. The original recipe calls for Chestnut Flour but says a good alternative (to the alternative flour) is buckwheat flour which is what I had on hand. These brownies were dark and fudgey with that familiar crinkly top. So good! I ended up slicing them up into narrow rectangles to feed Lucas' soccer team (one of the kids on the team is gf) so I could have some too. ;) Enjoy!

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Recipe: Gluten Free Chocolate Banana Bread

Banana bread is one of my favorite things to bake. I usually have a bunch of super ripe bananas in the freezer that are perfect for making sweet and moist banana bread. I decided to use my usual recipe from Flour bakery but adding healthy raw cacao powder, cacao nibs and making it gluten free with brown rice flour. Keep in mind this is the healthy version and not super sweet or chocolatey. If you want to go that route, I would swirl some melted chocolate chips into the batter. Yum! Check out these other gluten recipes for Citrus Ricotta Mini Cakes, Cardamom Coffee Cake, Carrot Muffins, Spiced Lentil Soup, and Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes.

+ Full recipe for Gluten Free Chocolate Banana Bread
+ I get my cacao nibs and brown rice flour from Thrive Market. Get 15% off using my referral link.
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Recipe: Black Bean Polenta

When nick and I met over 12 years ago, he was a vegetarian and I was a big time carnivore (growing up in a Chinese household meant some kind of meat protein with every meal). We came to a compromise on our dietary preferences very early on in our relationship (true love!) which consisted of eating mostly vegetarian but fish, chicken and turkey were okay. We weren't strict and my willpower was next to none--I mean, how could I resist the occasional slice of pepperoni pizza?

Fast forward to 2016, and many documentaries later, Nick has gone back to his vegetarian ways but includes fish (so, a pescatarian). I truly admire his tenacity but I must admit, as the cook/baker in the house, this was initially a bit of a challenge for me. Of course, Nick told me not to do anything differently and he'll just eat his own thing. But that would not be enjoyable for me-- the idea of the kids and I gorging on my Lemon Olive Chicken while he ate a bagel and cream cheese? So I've challenged myself to cook more vegetarian and fish meals--on the nights Nick isn't home for dinner, I'll cook my chicken dishes if I feel like it.

One of the biggest challenges as the cook in the house is making something that satisfies everyone. This Black Bean Polenta does the trick--we all love it, it's inexpensive, makes amazing leftovers, great for potlucks, plus it's vegetarian and gluten free. I love the version the Juice Bar Collective makes and found a version from Farmgirl Gourmet that I slightly modified.

+ Full Recipe for Black Bean Polenta
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Gluten Free Citrus Ricotta Mini Cakes for Virtual Baby Shower

Three things I love are food, friends and babies. So when I got invited to my friend Sarah's delicious virtual baby shower, I couldn't have been more excited to participate. Sarah (Snixy Kitchen) is having a baby girl in early February and her friends Alanna (Bojon Gourmet) and Todd (HonestlyYum) decided to host an amazing virtual baby shower with a Cheese & Sweets theme (Sarah's favorite things). Thanks for inviting me to celebrate!

I first met Sarah through my blog when she reached out to me interested in meeting up since she lives in the east bay too. On our first date, we met up at Elmwood Cafe where we instantly connected over food, blogging, our other jobs, and our boys named Lucas. Our second date was at the Whole Foods Market Gilman Store Preview Event and we've been seeing each other since. I couldn't be more excited for Sarah and her Lucas to start this new chapter. I keep telling her it'll be crazy and awesome.

I decided to bake gluten free Citrus Ricotta Mini Cakes with black sesame seeds (an ingredient Sarah uses a lot) and a citrus glaze. The cakes came out wonderfully and I will have to invite Sarah over for a real deal tasting before #cheesebaby arrives!

Other gluten free recipes: Best Granola Ever #2, Carrot Muffins, Cardamom Coffee Cake, Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes, Healthy Chocolate Pudding

Check out all these amazing recipes shared by other awesome blogger friends for the shower. Thanks again to Alanna of The Bojon Gourmet and Todd of HonestlyYUM for inviting me to celebrate Sarah and Lucas!

Follow along on social media with the official #cheesebabyshower to join in the celebration!

Cheesy Things

• the briny - Smoky Beans n' Greens Enchiladas with Roasted Sweet Potato and Sunflower Seed Cheese
• Half Baked Harvest - Greek Falafel Melts
• Healthy Nibbles & Bits - Japanese-Spiced Goat Cheese Ball with Pistachios
• Just Putzing Around the Kitchen - Cheesy Fried Spinach & Artichoke Bites
• My Natural Kitchen - Brazilian Cheesy Thyme Popovers
• Vanilla And Bean - Almond-Sage Pesto Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Gruyere
• Fix Feast Flair - Mixed Greens Salad with Lilikoi Vinaigrette, Honey Macadamia Nuts, and Goat Cheese
• FoodieCrush - Cheesy Sausage Pizza Bread
• Foodness Gracious - Avocado Feta Bowl with Couscous Grilled Chicken and Charred Corn
• Will Frolic for Food - Vegan Walnut Parmesan Zucchini Noodles
• Vegetarian 'Ventures - Pimento Mac & Cheese Bites
• MJ and Hungryman - Cheese Stuffed Kimchi Pancakes
• Savory Simple - Cheddar Chive Crackers
   

Sweet Things

• the pig + quill - Mini Vegan PB+J Cheesecakes
• The Kitchen McCabe - Meyer Lemon Pudding Cakes + Honeyed Chevre Whipped Cream
• The Little Epicurean - Matcha Mochi Waffles Sundae
• Shared Appetite - Vegan Chocolate Raspberry Mousse
• The Pancake Princess - Vegan Aquafaba Lemon Meringue Pie
• The Food Charlatan - Lemon Bars {gluten-free}
• Kale & Caramel - Spiced Caramel Chocolate Nut Clusters
   

Cheesy & Sweet Things

• The Bojon Gourmet - Blood Orange & Corn Flour Ricotta Cake with Whipped Mascarpone {gluten-free}
• HonestlyYUM - Sweet Cheese Puffs (for a Sweet Cheese Baby)
• fit for the soul - Queso Mais Ice cream {No-Churn}
• Completely Delicious - Chocolate Orange Ricotta Scones
• Good on Paper Design - Citrus Ricotta Mini Cakes {gluten-free}
• Floating Kitchen - No-Bake Meyer Lemon Cheesecake with Chocolate Ganache Layer {gluten-free}
• Hungry Girl por Vida - Gluten-Free Pretzel Goat Cheesecake Bites
• Heartbeet Kitchen - Roasted Citrus Bowls with Honey Mascarpone
• Salted Plains - Pavlova with Mascarpone Coconut Cream and Candied Citrus
• The Kitchen Paper - Candied Citrus Ricotta Cake
• le jus d'orange - White Cheddar and Apple Mini Pies with Cinnamon-Infused Honey

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Recipe: Best Granola Ever No. 2

Remember last year when I said this was the best granola ever? Well, not that I changed my mind, but I decided that I can have as many "best" recipes as I want. And this recipe is aptly named Best Granola Ever No. 2. With its crispy coconut chips, maple glazed pecans, Maldon sea salt (that salty sweet combo effect!), and crackly texture, this granola is seriously addictive. I may or may not have eaten an entire Ball jar of granola in one sitting.

Granola shards! I've decided I like crispy shards over chewy clumps.

The original recipe is so damn good but I modified this recipe slightly to eliminate refined sugar. My modifications include using half olive oil and half coconut oil, adding unsweetened coconut flakes for more coconut flavor, replacing brown sugar with coconut sugar, adding raisins and only stirring once during baking.

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Recipe: My Favorite Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes (gluten free)

One of my favorite things to make on the weekends pancakes. Theo loves sitting on the counter and helping with the measuring, pouring and mixing of all the ingredients. I've been using this recipe for years and the pancakes always come out perfectly fluffy and delicious. Lately, I've adapted the recipe to be gluten free--they're still fluffy but swapping out the white flour with whole grain brown rice flour makes them healthier (um, so I could eat more!). Did the same thing with my Cardamom Coffee Cake and Carrot Muffins. The key to keeping these from deflating is not over mixing the batter.

I love eating these with butter, maple syrup and fresh berries. I usually keep any leftovers in the fridge and reheat in the microwave for a quick breakfast for the kids throughout the week.

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Recipe: Healthy Chocolate Pudding

The word "healthy" in this chocolate pudding recipe refers to a secret ingredient that you'd never guess -- avocado. I first learned about this recipe from Jennifer Tyler Lee of 52 New Foods at the Williams-Sonoma event I attended a while back. One taste and I was hooked! Luckily the recipe is in her book, The 52 New Foods Challenge, which I made one afternoon with the help of Lucas. Scroll down and you'll see Lucas' favorite part about making it!

Enjoy!

Yeah, I let Lucas do this.

And yeah, I let him do this too.

One tip I loved from Jennifer was not to hide any of the ingredients but let your kids make it with you and see everything that goes in it.

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An Instagram GIVEAWAY with Veestro

While organizing the annual Earth Fair event at work a few months ago, I discovered a company called Veestro. They deliver 100% plant-based, chef prepared, non-GMO, ready-to-eat gourmet meals straight to your door anywhere in the U.S. I'm a big fan (the Red Curry with Tofu and Vegetables is my absolute fave, the kids loved the Chick'n Nuggets), so today I've partnered with Veestro to give away a $100 gift card to spend in their online shop. You could order juice cleanses, meal packs, or a la carte. To enter, simply follow the instructions at the end of this post.

This Red Curry with Tofu and Vegetables was SO good. It came with two scoops of brown rice and a good sized portion of curry with just the right amount of heat. Yum, yum, yum!

When Nick and I first met 12 years ago, he was a vegetarian and I was a big time carnivore. Growing up in a Chinese household, we ate some kind of meat or poultry every day (followed by a bowl of ice cream of course!). Nick has the soul of a vegetarian and he's rubbed off on me over the years. I don't know how to label what we are now, but we met somewhere in the middle -- eating mostly vegetables, fish, chicken, and turkey, with the occasional beef and ever so rare pepperoni pizza. Flexitarians? Occasional meat eaters? Either way, we try and buy mostly organic and consider the environmental impact of our purchases. We have been trying to eat even more plant-based foods because of the drought. It's not always easy, but Veestro makes healthy eating easy and delicious.

This was the Eggplant Casserole which was also saucy and delicious. I'm a little intimidated by eggplant so this was a nice treat.

The kids loved these Chick'n Nuggets without the Chipotle Sauce -- just plain. They devoured them in minutes and asked for more.

This Thai Chick'n Stew was comfort in a bowl. As much as I love tomatoes, I was hoping it had more of a coconut milk base rather than a slightly sweet tomato one. I'm usually not a huge fan of fake meat but was surprised at how much I liked this.

This Enchilada Casserole was a nice change from the Asian dishes I ordered. It had a lot of good flavor but could have been slightly less sweet. Still devoured it though!

My eating habits are a bit tricky. I'm not gluten free but love to experiment with gluten free cooking and baking. I'm not vegan nor vegetarian but try and go meatless when I can. I love salty and I love sweet, but love salty more than sweet even though I love baking more than cooking. Tricky, right?

Luckily, Veestro makes it super easy to eat healthy whether you are trying to lose weight, don't have time to cook, trying to make the switch to vegan, or just love (mostly) healthy eating like me. I'd love to try their juices next!

To enter the giveaway for a $100 Veestro gift card:

• Follow @good_on_paper and @VeestroFood on Instagram, leave a comment and tag a friend who would love this service.

• If you don't have Instagram you can leave your email in the comments below

• Please comment by Friday, June 26th, 12pm PST

• This giveaway is for U.S. residents only

• I will announce a winner selected by random number generator by Monday, June 29th

Best of luck!

Also, Veestro is offering a special 20% off discount site-wide for Good on Paper readers. Enter code GOODONPAPER20 at checkout through July 3, 2015.

UPDATE: Congratulations to Reichel Broussard (@copycatchic) for winning the gift card!

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Recipe: Almond Date Vanilla Shake

Last week's weather here in Berkeley was amazing and I was craving a refreshing drink. I whipped up this easy thrown-together (think a dash of this and a bunch of that) Almond Date Vanilla shake -- so refreshing and healthy on a warm day. Reminds me a bit of Mexican horchata. Lucas and Theo love it -- it's gluten free and vegan to boot! Enjoy!

Oh, and just a note about the almond milk. I absolutely LOVE all the ones from Califia Farms. I used the unsweetened one here. It's the only brand of almond milk I can drink plain. I must admit I initially bought it for its cute packaging!

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+ Photo taken with my iPhone 5
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Recipe: Spiced Lentil Soup with Herbed Yogurt

It's getting a little chilly around here (you know, in the 60's) and that calls for a big pot of soup with some crusty bread on the side. I have been making this easy Spiced Lentil Soup with Herbed Yogurt for a few years now ever since my neighbor/friend gave me a copy of it and raved about it. It's seriously easy, comforting, healthy, hearty, inexpensive, and makes tasty leftovers. The original recipes calls for bacon but I use turkey bacon since we don't typically eat pork around here. And sometimes we make it vegetarian by omitting the turkey bacon all together. Hope you enjoy this soup as much as I do. Have a wonderful weekend!

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