Tag: coconut oil

gluten-free donuts that won’t make you barf

Published on by jan grecoLeave a comment

Well hello. That’s right, I’m baaack— We’ll technically I’ve never been gone, just busy. But I’m here now and ready to dish (pun intended).

A while ago I talked about going gluten-free. I’ve continued to vacillate over gluten, frequently debating with myself whether it makes a difference in how I feel day-to-day, and never really coming to a conclusion. Then my daughter started suffering from frequent stomachaches. However since it was the year of the debilitating stomach-flu and she does have a propensity to worry, I kept thinking perhaps those were the culprits behind the complaints. But then she threw up in school. After eating snack. And a classmate slipped in it. (Yeah, disgusting. He cried, she didn’t.) That’s when the clouds parted and the pieces fell into place, each time she ate food with gluten she got a stomachache. Sometime a little gassy ache and sometime a big barfy ache, but an ache nonetheless. I did a little gluten elimination experiment, and she felt great. I concluded my experiment with a celebratory grilled cheese on regular bread and guess what. Bellyache. She is now officially a gluten-free girl.

It’s pretty easy these days to find tasty and inexpensive gluten-free options at the store and more and more packaging is including “Gluten-Free!” on the label, making it all the easier to shop. But I have to say that when it comes to breads and baked goods the options are a bit bleak. I was recently gifted a andwich bread and bagel recipe from a co-worker whose daughter is celiac (I’ll share them after I make the recipes a few times) but I was on a mission to find a recipe for something that seemed indulgent and treat worthy. Hello donuts!

Since I’d already conquered Chocolate-Beet Donuts and Baked Cinnamon Spice Donuts I thought revisiting those recipes was a good place to start. While chocolate is always a fan favorite the extra moisture from the beets, coupled with the nontraditional flour, made recipe conversion tricky. The spiced donuts however were begging for a re-do, and so I re-did. Behold… The best homemade baked gluten-free donuts guaranteed NOT to make you barf. You’re welcome.

Gluten-free Cinnamon Spice Donuts
These are the best donuts. Seriously. Gluten and guilt free deliciousness in one good to go package.
glutenfree donut2

1 cup flax meal
1 cup rice flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp. whole milk buttermilk, room temperature
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp. Angostura bitters

sugar coating:
3 tbsp. coconut oil, melted
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. nutmeg

  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a medium bowl whisk together all of the dry ingredients. Place the coconut oil in a large bowl and pop in the microwave for a minute to melt. Add to the coconut the buttermilk and eggs and beat, then add the bitters and whisk to combine.
  2. Gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until just until combined.
    Grease or spray the doughnut pan and fill each doughnut form half way. (I find it’s easiest to pour the batter into a ziplock bag, snip off one corner and pipe it into the pan.)
  3. Bake for 8-10 minutes. (You’ll know they’re done when they spring back when touched and are just beginning to brown on top.)
  4. While the donuts are baking mix together the cinnamon-sugar coating in a medium bowl and melt the coconut oil. Set aside.
  5. When the donuts are finished baking, immediately remove them from the oven and brush them with coconut oil. Give them a quick roll in the cinnamon-sugar coating and enjoy!

survive a snow day popcorn

Published on by jan greco4 Comments

I am so over this winter. I was home with my kids for nine years and we barely had enough snow to go sledding. I go back to work and New Jersey ends up having a Winter that could make Celine Dion feel at home. (She’s Canadian, get it. Never mind…) The kids have already used all their snow days, so it looks like they’ll be in school until at least mid-July. Our inflatable tube for sledding popped early in the season and since the stores are full of bathing suits and sunscreen, forget about replacing it. Northern NJ is reportedly out of salt, which would explain why the short drive to school has become more like an Olympic slalom course. And don’t get me started on the gluttonous amount of “well it is a snow-day” treats we’ve all been enjoying these past few weeks. I’m not just talking about the soft pretzels and snack bars, no I’m talking about the countless marshmallows we’ve roasted in the fireplace, the batches of cookies and muffins we’ve consumed, the ice cream at lunch because “you played so hard in the snow” and most recently the dark chocolate drizzled popcorn.

We eat a considerable amount of popcorn around here. After school every Friday I make the kids a big bowl of the stuff and pop in a DVD. They chill (usually with minimal bickering or complaining) and I get a little time to get dinner started or putter around without having to tell anyone to stop yelling, stop mauling the dog or stop annoying each other— it’s become a nice relaxing way to start the weekend. Popcorn and dvd’s have also become this mom’s saving grace during this exceptionally cold winter. Our last big snow storm had the kids pounding on the backdoor with red little noses and frozen tears in their eyes about ten minutes after going out. “Hot chocolate!” they cried “And popcorn…” Chocolate and popcorn, that’s a crazy combination… or is it? In the past I’ve made homemade Caramel Corn, which was a totally tasty and “junky” treat, but it was a bit involved. What if I simplified the sugared popcorn idea and instead made something like Dark Chocolate Drizzled Popcorn?!?

It turns out that those half-frozen kids of mine were actually onto something… a seriously delicious, totally addictive and super easy to make treat and the perfect reward for surviving yet another snow day. Enjoy!

Dark Chocolate Drizzled Popcorn
Crazy. Addictive. Delicious.

choc popcorn2

1 tbsp. coconut oil
1/2 cup jumbo popcorn kernels (such as Pop-Secret)
3.5 oz. 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 tsp. sea salt, divided

  1. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment and set aside. Add the coconut oil to a large pot and allow to melt. Add the popcorn kernels, cover, and allow to continue warming. As the popcorn begins to pop, shake pan. Once the popping slows to 2-3 seconds between pops, immediately remove the pan from the heat.
  2. Pour the popcorn onto the prepared baking sheet in as even of a layer as possible, removing any unpopped or partially popped kernels.
  3. Place the chocolate in a double-boiler (or a glass bowl over a pot of boiling water) and heat until the chocolate becomes completely liquid when stirred. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
  4. Pour the melted chocolate into a small ziploc bag, snip off a tiny bit of one corner of the bag and drizzle the chocolate evenly all over the popcorn. Immediately sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and let sit in a cool spot until the chocolate has hardened, about 1 hour.
  5. I understand that this will keep for a few days in an airtight container— Good luck with that!

*adapted from the washington post

coconut body butter

Published on by jan greco1 Comment

I love coconut; Mounds Bars and macaroons, Thai curry and Mulligatawny soup, shampoo and conditioner. If it’s coconut, it’s for me! The other day the kids and I were roaming around Trader Joe’s (well I was roaming they were desperately searching for Sammy the Shark) when I overheard a conversation in the spice section. A woman was saying how she uses virgin coconut oil all winter long as a moisturizer and hair conditioner. Hmmm, I knew it was considered a healthy fat and I use virgin coconut oil in all my curries and sometimes when I bake, but I never thought of using it topically. Apparently I’m rather late to the coconut oil party because the internet is filled with tales of its immune boosting, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory qualities. Not to mention that it makes a great moisturizer. Go figure!

If you’re already familiar with coconut oil then you know it’s firm at room temperature and will liquify with just the warmth of your hand. But, what I discovered is that if you whip a little air into it suddenly you have a creamy (more temperature stable) body butter that works great at soothing dry winter skin and makes you smell like the tropics. Coconut oil body butter, you had me at hello…

Coconut Oil Body Butter
Initially this body butter will have a greasy consistency and a little bit definitely goes a long way, but it absorbs fairly quickly into your skin and leaves you smelling delicious.

coconut butter2

1 cup virgin coconut oil

  1. Place the solid coconut oil in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.
  2. Turn the mixer to high and let process for 8-10 minutes, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl.
  3. When the coconut oil has become creamy and light transfer it to a glass jar and store at room temperature. If at any point it begins to liquefy just pop it into the refrigerator to chill a bit.

*adapted from living the nourished life