Raspberry Peach Fruit Leather

Since we're knee-deep in summer right about now, I can only hope that you're making the most of it by enjoying many bucketfuls of fresh fruit! For the bucketfuls of fruit that won't fit in your mouth, stretch that berry goodness by making some fruit leather.

Have you ever looked at the ingredients in fruit roll-ups that you buy in the store? It's ridiculous!

• corn syrup
• more corn syrup
• sugar
• preservatives
• artificial coloring and flavoring

Why not make something at home that won't put your kids in an early grave!

Ingredients

• 1 peach (washed, peeled if desired)
• 1 cup organic raspberries (I used frozen)
• 3/4 cup organic applesauce (or about two of those little applesauce cups)
• 2 Tbsp. honey or agave nectar (optional) but raspberries can be a bit tart, so I suggest you add the sweetener

1. Since I hate berry seeds, I blended my frozen raspberries with a tiny bit of water in a blender. Then, using a fine mesh strainer, strained the blended raspberries to get the seeds out.
2. Return strained raspberry puree to blender. Add the applesauce and honey to blender. Blend for a few seconds. 
3. Take a little bit of coconut oil (or cooking spray, even) and rub it on your dehydrator sheets. 
4. Spread the fruit mixture over two dehydrator sheets. (Mine have big circles in the middle of them). 
5. Dehydrate for 6-8 hours at around 120-125 degrees F. The temperature and timing will depend on your dehydrator. Like I said, my dehydrator has circular sheets with holes in the middle. You may have to adjust! Good luck!

"Ritz"-y Flax Crackers

These buttery little crackers are very similar to Ritz crackers! I always ate Ritz crackers with chicken noodle soup when I was a kid. Like Ritz crackers, these gluten free flax crackers love spending quality time with a hot cup of soup or chili.

I made mine a wee bit tiny because I ended up ordering some cute little Japanese carrot shape cutter things from internet land. Their tiny size really makes them perfect for scooping up a handful and sprinklin' them all up in a soup!

As you can see when compared to the size of the apple,
 these are some tiny crackers!

"Ritz"-y Flax Crackers

Recipe from Free Eats Food

• 1-3/4 cups gluten-free flour mix
• Mix: 2 cups brown rice flour, 1/3 cup tapioca starch, 2/3 cup potato starch
• 1/4 cup flax meal
• 3/4 tsp. guar gum (or xanthan gum if you tolerate it)
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1.5 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 2 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. granulated sugar
• 6 Tbsp. non-hydrogenated shortening (Earth Balance)
• 1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/4 cup soy/almond/rice milk + 2 Tbsp. if needed

* Note: I had a hard time with this dough. You most likely will too. It appears extremely dry and I ended up adding an extra 3-4 Tbsp. of liquid before refrigerating it in plastic wrap. The original recipe said to refrain from adding too much liquid, but I had no problem adding the amount that I did. 

1. Place the 6 Tbsp. of shortening in freezer until chilled and firm.
2. In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients. Mix well. 
3. In a small bowl, combine the liquids. Set aside. Reserve the extra 2 Tbsp. of liquid if needed (if dough is too dry).
4. With a fork (or pastry cutter if you're super fancy) work the chilled shortening into the dry ingredients until you have a bunch of tiny crumbles.
5. Add liquid ingredients to the dry/shortening mixture and mix with fork. The dough does not really hold together at this point. If it does for you, great. For me it didn't, so this is where you want to add that extra liquid if you need it.
6. Get out a piece of plastic wrap and scoop the dough onto it. Kind of knead the dough a bit for a few minutes until it seems sufficiently combined. 
7. Press down the dough into a little compact nugget and wrap the plastic wrap up around it.
8. Place dough in fridge for 1 hour.
9. Preheat oven to 375F.
10. Roll dough out on floured surface (or a cutting mat) with a piece of plastic wrap over the top of the dough. Roll dough out to about 1/8" in thickness
11. Cut out whatever shapes you want for your crackers. 2" diameter rounds is more of a typical cracker size : )
12. Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet for 8-10 minutes, depending on thickness of crackers. 
13. When golden brown remove from oven and cool on racks.

Easy Kale Chips

Salty. Crunchy. Extremely versatile and oh so easy to tailor to your specific seasoning needs. Kale is seriously one of the healthiest foods. Ever. In the world. 
It is full of vitamin K - which is important for proper blood clotting and healthy blood vessels, and vitamins A and C. 

• 1 bunch of organic kale (I used Lacinato/dinosaur kale)
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt, or to taste

After washing the kale, remove the large stem in the middle of each leaf as well as the vein-like tiny "stems" that run throughout the leaf. If you don't remove them they get ridiculously hard after cooking and will taste (and feel) like sticks, thus ruining the otherwise awesome and otherworldly experience that is kale chips ; )

Dry the kale very well. I ran mine through a salad spinner. Or blot super well with paper towel. Put kale into large bowl. Add olive oil and salt. Mix well. 

Other seasoning ideas:

- vinegar and sea salt (add 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar)

- chili powder and cumin

- garlic powder

Arrange kale on baking sheets, I had to use 3 total, lined with parchment paper. Bake at 300F for 20 minutes.

Snack - English Muffin with PB, hemp seeds

I recently bought a bag of Nutiva's hemp seeds. I've used hemp protein powder before in my smoothies and I've found that I'm not a big fan of it. But... the seeds themselves are pretty darn tasty and hemp seeds actually contain all essential amino acids, making it a complete plant protein! In case you were unaware, essential amino acids are those which the body cannot make and therefore must obtain from food sources (like hemp seeds, and flax, too!). If you'd like to know more about hemp seeds, check out the Body Ecology website.

Lately I've been getting bored with my usual granola breakfast, so I've been switching it up with some delicious gluten-free english muffins (made with almond meal, and are yeast-free) topped with either peanut or almond butter and a sprinklin' of hemp seeds. Great stuff! 

Roasted Squash Seeds

One of my favorite things about cooking squash is the tasty little bonus of roasted seeds! Rich in iron, protein, magnesium, and copper, these seeds really hit the spot when you're looking for a savory and salty yet healthy snack. 

After removing the seeds and stringy-ness from the inside of the squash, place the seeds in a bowl filled with water. 

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the strings from the seeds and rinse. 

Bring about 4 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan with 2 tsp. salt.

Boil the squash seeds for 10 minutes. Drain. 

In a small bowl put 1-2 Tbsp. olive oil (or canola) along with some garlic powder and salt (3/4 tsp.), or to taste. Toss the seeds in oil mixture. Place seeds in a single layer on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 13-15 minutes. 

Crispy Peanut Butter Balls

These little guys are quick and easy to make. 

I found that making these with just almond butter (based on this recipe) made them a little bit too dry for my liking. I prefer to make these with peanut butter! I've been struggling with a peanut butter addiction for quite some time now. These treats give me the quick PB fix I need in no time flat. 
These are also super tasty when made with chocolate hazelnut butter! I use Justin's brand.

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Ingredients

• 1 cup crispy GF rice cereal (I used Nature's Path)
• 1/2 cup peanut butter (or almond butter, or get crazy and use a mix of both!)
• ¼ cup maple syrup or brown rice syrup (or agave maybe?)
• ½ tsp. vanilla extract
• ¼ cup vegan chocolate chips (optional)

1. Line a plate or baking sheet with parchment paper. 
2. In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine wet ingredients: peanut butter, maple syrup, and vanilla, and microwave for 35-45 seconds. Stir. Repeat if the peanut butter is still not melted (or if you have a super old school microwave, like me).
3. Add crispy rice cereal and chocolate chips (if using) to the wet ingredients and stir to coat.
4. Wet hands with water and roll mixture into balls. Place on parchment paper.
5. Place in refrigerator until hardened. Store in an airtight container in fridge.