Paleo Coconut Power Bar Bites

Mmmm! A new recipe is here!

With a little time on my hands and some ripe bananas to use, I created a new bar recipe. This one is Paleo Coconut Power Bar Bites...and since it's Paleo, it's also gluten-free, dairy-free, with only naturally occurring sugars, (and accidentally vegan). These are a sweet treat, not unlike a cookie--so that's why I'm cutting mine into square inch bites.

Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees F.

In a large Pyrex baking dish, combine:

• 5 small/medium ripe bananas (mashed)
• 2 cups shredded UNSWEETENED coconut
• 1 cup hemp hearts
• 1/3 cup chia seeds
• 1/3 cup goji berries
• 1/2 cup pecans (chopped)

In a separate bowl combine:

• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup coconut oil (melted)
• 1 cup pitted dates (blended *I did mine with a hand blender along with the top two ingredients)

Mash the date blend into the Pyrex dish with the other mixed ingredients. Press evenly into the pan, and smooth edges.

Bake at 300 degrees for 50 minutes. Allow to cool. Cut into little bite size squares!

Enjoy :)

Panne Rizo's Rewards Program

I've talked about Panne Rizo on this blog before, and I'm still a huge fan. It's so nice to have a bakery dedicated to gluten-free eating, but one that offers egg-free and dairy-free products as well. My favourite products are still their bread crumbs, Vegan Chia Loaf, and Bird's Nest Cookies, but I will continue to explore and update you on my findings!

Panne Rizo is also fantastic at providing it's customers with new products for the holidays. Last Christmas they had a delicious assortment of traditional Christmas cakes and cookies, of which I ate plenty!

I noticed that they've also got special offerings for this Thanksgiving! Drop by and pick yourself up a pumpkin pie (or try the recipe on my blog!) or some pumpkin loaf. Or save yourself a ton of time by ordering some gluten-free turkey stuffing! This is fantastic for those who will be serving someone with a gluten-free diet and is overwhelmed by the idea of making their own!

A new feature for Panne Rizo is their free Customer Rewards Program. Gain points by spending money (1 point for each dollar spent), and gain extra points by bringing in your own reusable bags!
Panne Rizo will also register you into the Celiac Registry where you can get your Celiac receipts at the end of the year for tax purposes.

If you are diagnosed Celiac- here is the link to the Canadian Revenue Agency's page on Gluten-Free write-offs:
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/tpcs/ncm-tx/rtrn/cmpltng/ddctns/lns300-350/330/clc-eng.html

Here is the link to the page of Panne Rizo's new Customer Rewards Program:
http://www.pannerizo.com/rewards-celiac-registry/

Superfood Superpower Oat Bars

Tonight I created a recipe for an oat bar filled with healthy seeds, needs, and superfoods! Think protein,  healthy fats, and the added benefits of raw cacao, chia, and goji. Your body will love you.

Absolutely delicious- I hope you enjoy!

You will need:

½ cup roasted pecans, finely chopped

¼ cup goji berries

½ cup raw hemp hearts

2 tbsp raw cacao bits

2 tbsp black chia seeds

1 tsp cinnamon

1 ½ cup rolled oats

1 small mashed banana

½ cup unsweetened apple sauce

¼ cup maple syrup

Roast chopped pecans in a dry pan over medium heat, stirring constantly for about 5 minutes.

Add all ingredients into a bowl, and stir thoroughly.

Line a glass roasting dish with tin foil, pressing into the edges of the pan.

Press mixture into pan--trying to keep even throughout.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Allow to cool in the pan.

EPIC Expo

YIKES! Apologies for the hiatus! This post below was one I drafted and never got back to...

SO here's my review of the EPIC Expo!

This weekend I attended the EPIC Sustainable Living Expo in Vancouver, BC. Conventions like this should happen all the time! It really was a wonderful event- lots to learn, and even more to eat and drink--even for me!

Let's start with my discoveries:

Mongozo Beer- now available in Canada- (less than 10 parts gluten per million, other parts?...equal to a milligram per litre). With this amount of gluten, they are allowed to certify it as "gluten-free".
I can tell you that I was absolutely fine after drinking it- I can't guarantee that if I went on a 3 day binge with this beer, I would feel the same. I'm going to try to track it down, because it really was delicious. Somehow they've come up with a process of "removing" the gluten from the barley that it is made with. Pretty innovative, and yes, it tastes like real beer!
Upon request, I was told, " It will likely be sold at 16th Street Liquor Store, Brewery Creek, Firefly, Legacy Liquor Store, The Strath or Viti Wine & Lagers"

Choices Markets were giving out samples of some of their products, and a couple of them were gluten-free!
They were:
Raw Cocoa-Nut Drop Cookie
Quinoa and Rice Granola

Both delicious- and I would likely purchase them!

Earth Balance spreads- Coconut spread, and regular. These are great! If you are vegan- rejoice and buy these products! They are made from vegetable oils and are NOT hydrogenated...I'm still doing my research on if they're "good" for you or not- but they certainly were delicious.

I'm really enjoying my exploration in local foods and producers. I've been going to the farmer's markets regularly, and loading up on my produce for the week! It's not only fun, but you feel good doing it. It's nice to see produce that LOOKS like real produce- you know, not the "cookie-cutter" vegetables at your regular grocery store that are obviously GMO or hybridized or sprayed with a zillion chemicals. These look, and TASTE like real vegetables.

Homesense and Granola!

Yesterday I went on a mission to find storage solutions for my tiny apartment. Instead, I found wonderful gluten-free goodness!

Homesense on Richards/Robson carries a small amount of gluten-free goods including: snack foods, flours, and nuts and seeds. All of these products at lower than grocery store prices!

I ended up buying:
Gluten-free organic vanilla.
Certified wheat free oats.
Black Chia.

I've been looking for Certified wheat-free oats for a while now, and got them for a steal of a deal at Homesense.

So, today, I started doing what I have wanted to do for a while!

Homemade Granola! Gluten-Free! Almond-Free! Cashew-Free! Peanut-Free!

So, here's my recipe that I created:

6 cups wheat-free oats
1 cup pepitas
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
3/4 cup black chia seeds
1/3 cup dried apple bits
1/3 cup dried mango bits
1 1/4 cup dried cranberries
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger

3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup liquid honey
1 cup maple syrup (has to be the real stuff...throw out your Aunt Jemima. Please. You're Canadian...or maybe not, but we can all agree the real maple syrup is much better than the fake stuff)

Mix the dry in a large bowl. Drizzle over the olive oil, honey, and maple syrup while mixing.

Transfer to 2 large baking sheets.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes *****stirring once after 10 minutes*****


The verdict: Good! Next time I would add the dried fruit after the baking, but overall, yummy! Go ahead and try it for yourself!

Before:















After: Mixed with some Coconut Blueberry Yogurt