Casein Free Chocolate Biscotti (with or without Chips)

Carrie's Casein Free Chocolate Biscotti (with or without Chocolate Chips)

Note that this recipe is SIMILAR to my regular Biscotti but NOT THE SAME!!!
So please read thru ingredients... certain items are increased or taken out completely...

Mae and Rose love to eat them for breakfast soaked in Almond Milk. Or as a crunchy snack while outside playing (not recommended in the car - too crummy!).

Preheat Oven to 350 and set out two sheets of baking parchment paper

First you blend

1 1/2 Cup Soft Earth balance Butter

2 Cups Sugar
When blended, Add in

6 eggs

Then blend in

1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract

1/2 teaspoon Salt

2 Cups "Fiber" ( This picture is of dried coconut flakes and Oatmeal -but I used ground Oatmeal flour and Almond meal in this particular batch - you'll notice the white flecks of almonds in the final picture)

Blend in

2 Tablespoon Baking powder

3 Cups flour

2 Cups Cocoa Powder

1 Cup Chocolate Chips - Optional (I didn't use them in this particular batch)

Make 2 piles of dough on the parchment paper

Bake one at a time for 30 minutes. Then take out and carefully cut into slices and roll onto side (without breaking in half!)

(for pics of the cutting method - see my other Biscotti Recipe)

When done cutting place back into oven for 20 minutes.

Then VWALAA!! Here is the end result! Wait until they are cooled and hardened... usually overnight.
The more "stale" the better!

Casein Free Lemon Drop Scones

These are my disappearing Lemon Scones :)
Don't worry - you won't have to roll out any dough and cut it into pretty shapes!
I created the recipe for the busy mom who doesn't have the extra time and patience. These still taste heavenly - even without the classical scone "shape"

You'll notice I chose to make them with Half Flour and Half Oatmeal - so my girls get some form of nourishment. Aren't moms always trying to "sneak" something in? lol

Before you begin you will need 3 Cups of Ground Oatmeal.  I recommend using a food processor and making plenty to store for future use.  I have not tried this with Oat Flour, but it should work just as well. (Let me know if any of you out there use it - and the result.) Note: If you have a friend with a nice Cuisinart processor just bring over a bottle of Red Wine along with your large bag of Oatmeal :) This also works. 

First of all I find a clearing on my table for three sheets of parchment paper (this is much harder than it sounds).  Does anyone else's dining room table become a "catchall" for anything and everything?!?!?!?

Then:

Grate the peel of

ONE Lemon (set aside for later - put the bald lemon back in the fridge-we don't need it)

BEFORE we add the Butter I want to give you a TIP on how to measure cold butter. In the picture below I took a measuring glass and filled it with 1 Cup COLD water.... Then started scooping cold butter into it.  Although this picture is a "picture in progress" you would keep adding butter until the water line reaches 2-Cups....  Simple rule of water displacement :)

Blend (you don't have to use the whisk - the simple attachment will work)

ONE Cup Cold Earth Balance Butter

and

ONE cup Sugar

 PREHEAT OVEN TO 400 Degrees!!! (You're on the homestretch now)

Then add

The Grated Lemon Peel

and

3Eggs

Blend well.

 

Add 

3/4 Cup Lemon Juice

and 

15 Drops of Lemon Essential oil (ONLY Young Living Brand) This is optional.

 Blend well.

This is where I choose to change the mixing attachment to the dough hook. 

Slowly blend in

3 Cups of Ground Oatmeal (you might be able to substitute Oat Flour but I haven't tried it) 

Slowly Blend in
3 Cups of Flour
3 Tablespoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Salt

I "drop" the batter by the spoonful onto my 3 sheets of parchment paper and then press them flat with my hand.
 

 Bake for 12-14 minutes at 400 Degrees.

Make simple icing while they are baking by stirring together some

Powdered Sugar

and 

Lemon Juice

If you want a "thin" layer of icing then apply when they are warm out of the oven.

 

Carrie's Casein Free Chocolate Cupcakes / Cake

These are HANDS DOWN the best Chocolate Cupcakes I've ever had!!! and I'm not just saying that because they are mine :)

I have included many, many pics to prove my point.  I dare you to not eat spoonfulls of batter! 
Here goes:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Spray stone cupcake pan with Spectrum oil (You'll have to experiment if you use metal pans with cupcake holders - I am a pampered chef connoisseur) NOTE: This also makes 2 round cake pans of batter if you'd like a layered cake

Blend:

3/4 Cup Earth Balance Butter

1/3 Cup Brown Sugar

1 Cup regular sugar

When whipped nicely Add:

3 Eggs

Then add

1 Cup Almond Milk

3/4 Cup Vanilla Coconut yogurt

Slowly mix in

1 3/4 Cup Flour

1 1/4 Cup Cocoa powder

1 Tablespoon Baking Powder

8 "cranks" Sea Salt ( This might be around 1 teaspoon?)

Whip for a minute or two.

Pour into greased cupcake stone (or pan with liners).

This is where I note the amount...

The batter (if used entirely) will make:
12 "Muffin Top" cupcakes (which is what I did in the pictures below)
or
18 regular cupcakes - filled only 3/4 of the way up the mold/paper cup etc...

(Note: if you eat a few Tablespoons of batter - like I usually do! - then it will make 12 regular cupcakes. This is why my recipe makes a little more than the needed amount. This batter with a glass or two of wine is the perfect "snack" while baking. lol)

Place in oven slightly above center.

Every oven is different  - but
I bake for 27 minutes.

Let set for 20 minutes (At least) before taking out of mold.

Please don't drool on your keyboard!

I LOVE BUBBLES!!!!

I have moved my blog to another page. Please visit me here!

SeriouslyWhatNow.com

Carrie

I was wandering thru Whole foods last week frowning at the wallet I was about to empty on bath bubble juice. So far the only two that came close were California Baby (which costs an arm and a leg and a nose... and an organ) and some cold and flu concoction

PLEASE NOTE: I have included the inscription from the website with a "milk allergy" statement. BUT, so far Mae has not had a reaction. And she played in it for 30 minutes. I will run a few more "tests" and see how she fares... but so far so good! And the bubbles/suds last forever!!! Wish me luck. (update at bottom)

Key Ingredients:
Lemon Balm (soothing, antioxidant)
Shea Leaf Extract (antioxidant, antibacterial)
Handcrafted Shea Butter (moisturizing, protective, emollient)

Full Ingredients:
Aqueous extracts of Shea Leaf (Butyrospermum parkii) and Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis), Decyl Polyglucose, Lauryl Glucoside, Shea Butter* (Butyrospermum parkii), Glucose, Glucose oxidase & Lactoperoxidase.

Calming Lemon Lavender Also Includes:
Lavender Essential Oil, Lemon Extract

Comforting Eucalyptus Mint Also Includes:
Essential Oils of Spearmint and Eucalyptus, Orange Extract

Sensitivity Information:

This product is gluten free.

For those customers with milk sensitivities we don't recommend use of this product. It does contain a milk enzyme for preservation - Lactoperoxidase.

Jump to the website directly :)

UPDATE:

The girls had another bath 3 days ago with twice as much bubble juice - for twice as long. 

THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER!!!

Still no side effects... So, my theory is - because the Lactoperoxidase  is an enzyme it doesn't affect people with a Casein issue. One is an enzyme - one is a protein.  Therefore, they can't both attach themselves to the same receptor in the brain etc... hope this helps! I am always looking for a good "Deal" a.k.a. "Cheap"!

Casein Free Yogurt Popsicles

Casein Free yogurt Popsicles

Ingredients:

So Delicious Yogurt (4-5 6oz) (mine love Raspberry/Blueberry swirled)

Popsicle sticks ( I use the skinny ones)

Ice Cube Tray for sportsbottles

FIRST - make sure you separate the ice tray and wash in the dishwasher (use natural detergent!)
Also run the popsicle sticks thru the dishwasher. :)

There is a link to a place to buy this on my "products I buy page" :)

REATTACH the bottom - It will "snap" back into place.

I pour the 4 or 5 cups of Yogurt into the molds. You can get away with 4 6oz containers if you are very miserly and scrape out every last bit. BUT if your girls are hovering over you like mine do licking the cups and swiping fingerfulls from the mold - It will take 5 :)

Then simply place sticks in each mold and Freeze overnight !!!

These have Raspberry poured into the bottom inch and Blueberry filled to the top

Taking them out is a bit tricky ....

1.) Snap OFF the bottom
2.) Run warm water over the "legs" for 10 second or so
3.) push with your fingers from the bottom until they start to move
4.) slowly pull them out by the sticks

I then put the popsicles back in the freezer in either a large ziploc bag (not preferred) or a large airtight tupperware.  VWALAA!!!

Carrie's Casein Free Biscotti

This is a recipe very close to my heart :)
It has become a STAPLE in our home. Whenever we travel I make a TON of these. Mae and Rose love to eat them for breakfast soaked in Almond Milk. Or as a crunchy snack while outside playing (not recommended in the car - too crummy!). I have photos at the end of some of the ingredients (I have verified them to be casein free)

Here goes!

Carrie's Casein Free Biscotti 

Preheat Oven to 350 and set out two sheets of baking parchment paper

First you blend

1 1/2 Cup Soft Earth balance Butter

1 3/4 Cup Sugar (you may make it sweeter if you like ~ 2C)
When blended, Add in

6 eggs

Then blend in

1 Tablespoon Almond Extract

1/2 teaspoon Salt

2 Cups "Fiber" ( Here I chose dried coconut flakes and Oatmeal - but sometimes I use nut meal)

Blend in

1 Tablespoon Baking powder

4 Cups flour

1 Cup Chocolate Chips!
(nuts optional)

Make 2 piles of dough on the parchment paper

Bake one at a time for 30 minutes. Then take out and carefully cut into slices and roll onto side (without breaking in half!)

When done cutting place back into oven for 20 minutes.

Then VWALAA!! Here is the end result! Wait until they are cooled and hardened... usually overnight.
The more "stale" the better!

Here are some of the ingredients:
(The rest can be found on my "What food I buy" page.)

Sungrubbies and Foil for my Sunscreen!

Before I write this particular blog - I want to give you my favorite sunscreen so you don't have to rush through the reading and look for it below... what? You think it's funny!? I do it all the time :) Come on - desperate mom's are always rushed and need quick answers... so here is mine :) 

(We have officially finished the "testing" phase.. and SO FAR SO GOOD! no mood "triggers" or other issues. I use it myself and LOVE it!)  It seems expensive ($20) a bottle BUT it is almost 3 Times the amount you get for natural sunblock at Whole Foods which can cost ($17+) !!! So you are actually spending less that you would for a mainstream sunblock with all of the TOXIC stuff in it at the local grocery store. Pretty Cool eh?

Sunscreen - Sun Stuff from Purple prairie

99% natural ingredients:
active ingredient: 20% micronized zinc oxide. non active ingredients: aqua(water), organic cold pressed olea europaea(olive)fruit oil,hamamelis virginiana(witch hazel) kosher vegetable glycerin, organic cocos nucifera (coconut),Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Cetyl Alcohol, Butylene Glycol organic, butyrospermum parki (shea butter), organic theobroma cacao (cocoa butter), organic jojoba oil,rosemary extract

For my impatient friends out there (you know who you are!) : The link to the website where I purchase my girls' cute sunproof swimsuits is at the bottom of the page.

Who remembers going to the beach (or pool - for you non-coastal people) and having your mother spread that white paste all over your nose and cheeks? Just me? Come on - admit it... We all had the pleasure of looking like a bunch of clowns in the 80's when it came to sunscreen :)

But sometime in the mid 90's EVERYTHING changed.... at least from my point of view.  It seemed like the numbers got higher and higher and the ingredients became chemicals... hmmmmm...

I bought a book (10 years ago) about toxins in the home and read it in one night. It scared me!  One of the books "big draws" was it's information and research on OXYBENZONE in sunscreens.  My first thought was, "why would I want to put any type of fuel product on my skin?!". My second thought was, "great, it's back to clown face for me".

If you spend some time researching how sunblock works you'll come this very oversimplified explanation. There are 2 basic kinds of sunscreen:
1.) Those which absorb into your cells and tell them not to turn red.
2.) Those that act like a layer of foil covering your skin and reflect the rays off.

For me, this basic information is enough to influence my decision. I don't want anything altering the normal process of my cells.  It's FOIL FOR ME!

If you want some "proof" of my conclusions I can't give it to you definitively, but I can cut-n-paste a websearch response below...

"Oxybenzone is a chemical in the family of benzophenones that is used in the vast majority of common sunscreens, as well as other skincare products, lip balm, etc. It is in the majority of sunscreens because of its ability to absorb and dissipate UV light, which causes sunburn and eventually skin cancers. Ideally, the chemical would simply sit on the skin and block sun rays until being washed off. Unfortunately, a study from the CDC suggests that the chemical is actually absorbed into our system, and can stay there for an unknown amount of time. The CDC randomly tested thousands of blood samples and found traces of benzophenones in 95 percent of the samples. It is certainly a scary thought that this chemical is being absorbed into our systems and causing unknown effects.
Currently, there are no studies showing a direct relationship between oxybenzone in sunscreen and negative health consequences. However, there is evidence that benzophenones can cause damage to cells and affect hormones in a lab setting. This means that if you expose animal cells to oxybenzone in a lab, you may see toxic effects. The caveat is that this does not always translate into cellular damage in the real world, usually because the concentration of the substance is much higher in lab studies. Many commonly used substances have been shown to cause cancer in rats, most famously the artificial sweetener aspartame. I think the most important thing is to wear some type of sun protection, oxybenzone-containing or not, because we know for a fact that sunburns and sun exposure leads to skin cancer. Playing it safe, however, is never a bad idea."

Skin Biology website has a great page to read.(I highly recommend reading this one!) 

I like this link because it also explains a VERY important topic - the affects of too many "estrogens" in our daily life. And YES, chemical sunscreens contain estrogen-like compounds that confuse the body.

Here are some chemicals to watch out for in your sunscreen ingredient list (also on the above site):


Benzophenones (dixoybenzone, oxybenzone)
PABA and PABA esters (ethyl dihydroxy propyl PAB,  glyceryl PABA, p-aminobenzoic acid, padimate-O or octyl dimethyl PABA)
Cinnamates (cinoxate, ethylhexyl p-methoxycinnamate, octocrylene, octyl methoxycinnamate)
Salicylates (ethylhexyl salicylate, homosalate, octyl salicylate)
Digalloyl trioleate
Menthyl anthranilate
Avobenzone


If you are desperate and traveling - and NO WHERE near a natural food store etc...
 I only found one option:
 It is the LESSER of the EVILS....

Active Ingredients:
Titanium Dioxide 4.9%, Zinc Oxide 4.7%

Inactive Ingredients:
Alumina, Arachidyl Alcohol, Arachidyl Glucoside, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Extract, Beeswax (Apis Mellifera), Behenyl Alcohol, Benzyl Alcohol, BHT, Bisobolol, Butylene Glycol, Butyloctyl Salicylate, Cetyl Dimethicone, Dimethicone, Dimethicone PEG 8 Laurate, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate (Licorice Root), Disodium EDTA, Ethylhexylglycerin, Glyceryl Stearate, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium. Inactive Ingredients: Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Isohexadecane, Methicone, Methylisothiazolinone, Pantothenic Acid, PEG 100 Stearate, PEG 8, Polyaminopropyl Biguanide, Polyhydroxystearic Acid, Polymethylmethacrylate, Polysorbate 60, Potassium Sorbate, Retinyl Palmitate, Silica, Stearic Acid, Styrene Acrylates Copolymer, Tocopheryl Acetate, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Trisiloxane, Water, Xanthan Gum

Please note that this is the easiest sunblock to find if you are out in town, on the road, traveling, etc... and only have a walmart/target at your disposal.  I will add some natural food store brands later.


Also NOTE that sneaky little sucker - BHT in the ingredients. It pops out at me and has a whole lot of nastiness in those three little innocent looking letters. BUT, sometimes we have to go with the lesser of two evils.  And so I do...

Now,  on a daily basis, if my girls are out playing or going to the pool/beach etc... I simply put these COOL swimsuits on them (Here are the ones for older girls size 6+).  I LOVE them.. and I can attest that after spending one summer in the pool 5 hours a day for 6 days a week (why do pools always close one day for maintenance!?) They still looked like little Caspers :)
And these sunhats fold up nicely in your purse/bag/cargo shorts pocket etc... for those theme park adventures when your kids are waiting in line etc... we are wearing then in ALL of our Disney photos! They are a cool material that dries quickly - so your kiddos can wear them in the pool and walk around with them 5 minutes later. Also great on a hot day (get them wet in a water fountain before putting them on!)

 Here is the SunGrubbies website (click on me!)


The staff is kind. And, the last time i checked, you can still talk to a human when you call!