Sunday, December 29, 2013

EASY SUGAR-FREE & GLUTEN-FREE TART AND COCONUT TREATS

                                                      For the Holidays and All Year Long!


Holidays can be rough when you are on a sugar-free, gluten-free and dairy-free diet. I am presently on the Gaps Diet, which means in addition to nixing  sugar and gluten, I also avoid all starchy foods, including grains. 

 In the past, I would feel like I was really missing out on all the holiday goodies. Sure, I could cheat and have a few cookies or a small helping of some irresistible decadent dessert, but my negative connection with sugar was too overpowering. I associated eating sugar, candy and desserts with relapsing Lyme symptoms. As a result, I could not and would not let myself  partake of any  traditional holiday treats. Instead, I ended up  feeling sorry for myself and envying others who piled their plates with Christmas cookies, traditional desserts and candies. 

But, I’m happy to say that those days are over. Thanks to Mental Field Therapy, an effective self-help therapy taught to me by Dr. Goodsoul, I was able to change my perspective on how I viewed desserts (especially during holiday times) and now I have a healthier and more positive attitude toward food in general. I now choose foods, including healthy desserts, that serve me and make me happy, too!

Here are two delicious, easy  recipes that are sugar-free, gluten-free and starch free.  I recently  introduced butter in my diet and have it every now and then. So I chose to make the tart with butter. (When it comes to baking – you can’t beat that melt in your mouth taste of butter!)  The coconut treats are an easier, no-bake, less restricted version of a Gaps recipe.

APPLE & PEAR TART



PASTRY

 1 cup of almond flour
½ stick of butter, cold, cut up in small pieces (preferably organic) Coconut butter can also be used.
1 egg
Pinch of salt

FILLING

2 apples – peeled and thinly sliced
1 pear – peeled and thinly sliced (I used Comice pear)
2 Tbsp butter

GLAZE

 3 Tbsp of All-fruit Apricot jam for glaze


Preheat oven to 400ยบ F. In a bowl or processor, combine the almond flour, salt and butter.  Mix until it looks like cornmeal.  Add I beaten egg and mix until it forms a ball. If it’s too sticky, add more flour until it is doughy. Break into 3 pieces and mush into a buttered pie or tart pan. Prick bottom and bake for a few minutes. This makes the crust extra crunchy.

When cooled, arrange sliced apples slightly overlapping each other around the plate. Arrange the pear in the center. Dot with butter and bake for 45 minutes. For extra browning, put in broiler for a minute after baking.

Heat the apricot jam in a saucepan and brush over the tart. Makes 6-8 servings.


COCONUT TREATS



1½ cups flaked unsweetened coconut
9  dried apricots - soaked in water for 6-8 hours or overnight
½ cup ground almonds or coarsely ground almond flour ( I used Shiloh Farms brand)

In a blender or processor, add flaked coconut ½ cup at a time and grind to a finer texture. Cut up 3 apricots and add to the ½ cup grounded coconut. Puree together. Form balls and coat with ground almonds or almond flour. Makes about 18 balls.


ENJOY!!!