Yummm...Red Velvet...Yummm...Beets

It's been a little while since my last post but things are a little crazy around here. I have been running around a lot lately with the baby and have neglected my own meals a few too many times.

A couple weeks ago I was on the run early to pick up my car from the shop then meeting some moms for a big walk along the waterfront.  I forgot to grab breakfast before I left and was starving by the time I got downtown.  Do you know what this means, my chance to try Kind Food!'

KindFood is a gluten free and vegan bake shop, organic cafe and juice bar which I have been wanting to try for some time now.  I got downtown earlier than everyone else and ran over to the Cafe... ugggh it was closed for another 1/2hour and I had to meet everyone in 15 mins.  Well, no breakfast for me then.  I grabbed a latte with Soy from Second Cup (my treat for our walks) and went on my way.

After the walk I was even more hungry, as you can imagine, and all I could think about was KindFood!   I headed over to check out my options.  After staring at their little menu for 15mins I decided on their vegan burger (I wasn't sure how this was going to taste but, it was worth a try) and 2 Red Velvet GF/Vegan cupcakes (one each for hubby and I after dinner).

Cupcakes just waiting to be eaten.
photo c/o: www.eatlocallyblogglobally.com

I was so hungry I ate the burger on the drive home and found myself licking my fingers to get every last bit it was so good.  The cupcakes sat on the counter staring at me all day (cruel and unusual punishment) but it was worth it, we had a lovely cupcake date night when the baby was in bed.

A little Raw Vegan restaurant called The Naked Sprout sells these cupcakes.  In October 2012 KindFood is opening another location just for their baked goods called Kelly's Bake Shoppe.  

My hubby does not eat GF by choice, disease or intolerance only as he says, "through osmosis" since I'm celiac and do the shopping and cooking mostly.  He LOVED the cupcake so I asked him to guess what it was made of (a little game we play when he likes something thats made of things you wouldn't expect) and he couldn't guess it!

It's Made with Beets!

Thats right Beets! The colour and sweetness comes form roasted beets... HOW CLEVER IS THAT?!?!

Learn how to roast beets in the oven here!

So this got me thinking...we both love these cupcakes but at almost $4 each there is no way I'm buying them regularly for us...maybe I can make them???

So I got out my trusty computer searched and searched and searched.  Low and behold I found it...not only a recipe but a video tutorial too, Jackpot!

Welcome to my world Gluten Free Gigi!! 

This website has so many recipes for baking with almost any allergy and many video tutorials to go along with them.  Later I'll post about making her sun butter...YUMMY!

I'm not going to do a full tutorial as Gigi has done this justice however here's how my attempt turned out.  

I went to the store and got my supplies ready and began baking.  

I roasted the beets in the oven as indicated by TheKitchn.  This was super easy and I just did it while I was using the oven for dinner the night before.  I took them out of their 'skin' and kept in a covered bowl in the fridge over night.  

Beet after being roasted and skin removed. 

I then chopped the beets to get them ready for the food processor.  This gets red juices everywhere!  

I love the rings in beets, so pretty!

I have a small food processor but it had no trouble handling this.  I added Almond milk here.   

My little Cuisinart food processor does the job!

 Once processed I added all the wet ingredients using real egg as I can eat eggs but when I make them again for my sister in-law I'll use an egg replacer as she can't have eggs.  

I'll post an update once I try this with which method of replacer I chose and how it turned out.

Beet puree, honey, egg and vanilla

 I mixed up the dry ingredients and added my Earth Balance.  For the flour I chose to use Gigi's Gluten Free Flour Blend with Gum.  She does have a whole post on why you do not need gum's in GF baking however I have not ventured to that just yet.  I can update after I try that as well.  

Dry ingredients with Earth Balance 'butter' being added

Once all dry ingredients were mixed with the 'butter' I added the wet to the dry and then divided into the muffin tins.   

Loving the bright RED of these cupcakes!

 Bake then check! I use the toothpick method and these were perfect after 17 mins!

Straight out of the oven...smells so good!

As for the icing I didn't use Gigi's and really wish I had.  I made a quick vanilla butter cream with my Earth Balance but it was WAY TOO SWEET and heavy for this type of cake.  Next time I'll be heading over to my natural store to get some vegan 'cream cheese' and make a cream cheese icing.  

The finished product!

So how did they go?

Other than the Icing being too strong they were fantastic.  My hubby loved them and I couldn't stop at just one ... if its made with veggies it's ok to eat before 10am right?

We were going to a friends house for dinner that night so I brought these for desert.  The kids (5, 6, 10) loved them and wanted seconds so I would say they were Kid Approved!

Have you tried baking with beets?  How has it worked out?

Any good icing recipes?

Leave a comment with how your version went!

Roasted Heirloom Tomato Marinara Sauce

My hubby works for a really awesome company who look after their employees very well.  One perk his company offers it's employees is they can have care for a veggie patch on campus and keep what it produces.  He's only been there about 6 months but lucked out taking-over a patch from a colleague going on maternity leave.  The patch is little and he only planted tomato's this year, but WOW I couldn't believe what it has produced so far!  He's been bringing home a good haul of Heirloom and cherry tomatoes (we joke that daddy brings home the tomatoes not bacon) every week for 3 weeks now.

What do we do with this many heirloom tomatoes? (and more to come)

Straight from the garden

Naturally, I turned to Pinterest looking for a great sauce using heirloom tomatoes.  It needed to be easy, quick, and yummy! The first recipe I found sounded amazing, looked super easy and used heirloom tomatoes...PERFECT I LOVE PINTEREST!  I also loved that this recipe recommended roasting the tomatoes for an even sweeter taste. 

You can find the recipe I used here which was created by Sally Cameron, chef and health coach from A Food Centric Life.

Here is my go at Roasted Tomato Marinara Sauce with Garlic and Oregano.

We chopped up the tomatoes, onion and garlic as directed but we also added red and yellow peppers then threw in the oregano, salt and pepper.

Added the olive oil and wine of course. This house is never short on red wine and this one just happened to be open that day.

Mixed it all together and put it in the pan.  I'm lucky we were at the in-laws this weekend and I got to use all my MIL's fancy cookware.  I love this roasting pan!

 Peeking and stirring after 45mins of roasting...the smell is AMAZING!

 I was so excited I forgot to take photos of it all done roasting and of it in the Vitamix.

Finally the finished product (in vacuum sealed freezer bags).

We froze 3 packs, however opened one a few days later as we couldn't wait to try the sauce.

All I have to say is Best sauce I have ever had, YUMMY!  

There is nothing like veggies fresh from the garden or homemade food.  So simple and so real!

A few variations we have tried since the first batch.
#1- Omitted the salt and used chicken stock so the baby can have some once he's eating solids.
#2- Used cherry tomatoes as well, they popped and squirted when roasted, and made the taste so good!
#3- Pureed longer and higher in the Vitamix, the seeds were then non-existent (know real sauce has no seeds but we didn't mind)


Leave a comment and let me know how much you loved this sauce and all your variations!

Gluten-Free at the CNE

After I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease a year ago (and got over my denial of the dangers of consuming any gluten in my diet) I discovered how careful I need to be about what and where I eat.   At first I was just trying to eat GF as much as I could until my doctor explained the dangers this way... "If there is nothing gluten-free then you just don't eat, it's that simple" and that serious.  

I am a self proclaimed food addict, I don't like lots of different foods (I'm getting way better) but I LOVE food, so not eating is not an option for me.  I love food so much that I tell people, "My hubby eats so he can work-out, I work-out so I can eat" and I work-out a lot!  I love to be able to go out for a nice meal with hubby and friends but it is tough.  Some restaurants offer lots of GF options and others offer NONE!  Yeah I know, how is that possible this day-in-age.  

A few weeks ago my mom and I were having a discussion about Gluten-Free options at restaurants and she mentioned she felt that there really it's not a big enough demand for most restaurants to offer that many Gluten-Free options.  This got me thinking...

Would more people go to specific restaurants if they knew there were LOTS of options for allergen-free foods?  
Would more companies offer MORE allergen-free foods if they knew more people would eat there?

I think yes to both, but it's one of those chicken or egg came first kinda deals.  I am always trying to find restaurants with GF options and when I find them I typically keep going back.  

Today I found a really great website and Blog created by Jax, a Certified Holistic Nutritionist living in Toronto who was diagnosed with Celiac 6 years ago. 

 Gluten Free Ontario is a fantastic resource for finding GF options across Ontario.  She lists all kinds of restaurants that offer GF options across Ontario (Canada) on the website and on her Blog she has all kinds of contests, information and ideas for GF options!  I'll be back to this one for sure!

Jax also has a fantastic post about GF options and restaurants which is totally worth a read.  See Why Boston Pizza had to pull their gluten-free menu and how the 'WHY' will effect GF options everywhere.  

Specifically what I thought was really great was a list outlining which food vendors at the CNE offered options for all the different dietary restrictions.  See the list for CNE Food Building Dietary Restrictions and check out her blog for more posts on gluten-free food options at various tourist attractions across Ontario. 

What restaurants offering GF options are your fav's and which GF dishes are your go-to's when there is not much to choose from. 

The Beginning of Real and Simple

As I sit here(heart pounding, hands shaking and fingers missing the correct keys) I write my first blog post.  This is an idea I have been toying with for a while but very afraid to jump into.  I'm not sure what made me think this was the time but hey, right now is as best a time as any I guess.  

My purpose for this Blog is just a place where I can write about my adventures (or misadventures) with trying to change the way my family lives, eats and plays. 

Why did I decide to change all of this you ask? 

About 2 years ago I began learning that everything I thought I knew about nutrition, health and everyday products was completely backwards and just out-right WRONG!  When I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease my research into a Gluten-Free life opened my eyes to a world of alternative nutrition.  And the birth of my first baby led me to become concerned about which products I use on him and the world he will be growing up in.  

Then I discovered Pinterest (Ohh how I love you Pinterest).  My eyes were opened to a whole new beast...I began to ‘Pin’ as if it was my job (hubby says I have a bit of an obsession, but really it has changed so many things in our lives).  I found lots and lots and LOTS of interesting blogs which have inspired me to make my lil Fam’s life more natural and simple. 

So join me as I try out all the neat, fun, interesting and simple things I find through Pinterest.  And please leave your comments, I’d love to know how you make your life Real and Simple!