Today was a house-cleaning day. Lily (6-years old) decided to make a chore chart and put our names next to what needed to get done. She put all of our names (including the babies) on clothespins to attach next to each chore. She decided that Ben (10 months old) would be her helper for the family room and toy clean-up. She soon realized that having him in the room was a bit more work than she had intended. Well, you can only imagine what happened.

It's Friday night and Tom is dutifully doing all the dishes so I can write. Yes it's late, but our twins, now nearly 11 months old, have awoken twice already this evening. They are great at not sleeping, but somehow we survive on what little sleep we manage to get. I am hoping that by the time they turn one we will have them sleeping at least a five hour stretch at night.

You are in for a real treat today! The other night I had an early morning dream of these cupcakes with the recipe clearly spelled out for me. I was in sort of a lucid dream-like state and knew I needed to write it down. But alas, I have been exhausted caring for my children who have the chicken pox (and Tom who apparently did not have them as a child). So I fell back asleep with them playing on the bed. The next time I awoke I had the recipe in the forefront of my now awake mind. I asked my seven year old, Lily, to run and get me a pen and paper.

I received an email last weekend from someone who has our book and also has a toddler about the same age as our twin boys (who are 15 months now). She was asking about snacks to take on outings and play dates. I replied to her and mentioned the obvious for us: green smoothies, nori, rice cakes, fresh fruit.

Although life seems to have eased up a bit now that our twin babies will be 15 months old tomorrow, the pace has begun to ramp up. Most days I feel like I am herding cats! For example, the other day I was out for a morning walk with the boys while the girls were in school. The boys really enjoy walking for part of it and if were up to Sam, he would walk for miles without stopping. As we neared the duck pond on a wooded trail near our house the boys began to merge onto the trail that leads down to it. I stopped the baby jogger and rounded them up like two footballs under each arm.

I like food. I love the contrasting colors, pungent flavors, and good feelings that come from it. And eating these naturally delicious whole foods is really just as wonderful when eating gluten-free.

For those of you who have just begun the process of switching to a gluten-free diet, I offer you these suggestions for making wrap style sandwiches work with gluten-free tortillas.

Sound too good to be true? Here I present to you a fabulous-tasting chocolate layer cake. Moist and delicious. Tender and rich. Chocolate at its best. Allergen-free. No gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, corn, or sugar!

Seriously, you just can't go wrong here.

Love is in the air now, can you feel it? The girls and I have been making Valentine's for over a week now. There is glitter all over the house!

What do you do to celebrate Valentine's Day?

I know for most of us chocolate is involved. Maybe roses, a massage, a nice dinner. These are all wonderful things, but what about love?

So you want to eat nutritious, healing foods AND need to eat gluten-free? Look no further. Having simple, easy-to-prepare recipes like these can make this type of lifestyle very doable.

I have this recipe that I created a few months ago and I thought I would share it with you. It is one of those recipes that is so delicious and so perfect that you don't want to give it away, or share your secret. But here it is! A gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, sugar-free delicious and nutritious little muffin, the Teff Breakfast Muffin.

After a temporary break of much needed spring-like rain, summer is back! We spent the day at the beach. The kids waded in the ocean and found purple and orange starfish in the tide pools. The boys were happy to dig in the sand for a few hours. And me? Well I got to lounge in the sun and talk with a friend while I ate this refreshing summer salad.

Here I used English cucumbers and basil from the Farmer's Market, and local heirloom tomatoes from our food co-op. Add shaved parmesan cheese or fresh mozzarella cheese if you tolerate dairy products!

Summer BBQ's, potato salad, layered jell-o salads, fireflies, and sparklers flashing through the humid July night sky....these are my 4th of July memories growing up in the Midwest.

Since layered jell-o salads just aren't in my cooking repertoire anymore I have devised something even more delicious...and good for you!

Yesterday I was standing in my kitchen at 5pm, with four hungry children underfoot, wondering what to make for dinner. I made the usual rounds to the pantry, fridge, and garden. Something spicy, green, and with noodles was brewing in my mind. A green curry sauce, over noodles, with tempeh, broccoli, spinach and zucchini. Hmm, and how about roasted cashews too? Every now and then I make a simple Thai Green Curry Sauce. Yesterday evening I took note of the ingredient amounts to be able to share it with you.

Just in time for summer BBQs comes an easy recipe for homemade barbecue sauce! It is sweet and tangy with a nice kick from the chipotle chili powder. I don't shop around much for barbecue sauce and therefore am not on the up-and-up with ingredients and allergens commonly found in sauces. Many barbecue sauces contain soy sauce or tamari and, therefore, potentially wheat as well. Barbecue sauces are often also hidden sources for refined sugars or high fructose corn syrup, and some contain other types of processed ingredients that most of us would like to avoid.

What to do when the weather turns warm? Make ice cream, of course. We’ve been making “ice cream” quite a bit lately. Last week, the temperature lingered in the low 80s for days, and this week has been just as beautiful—hovering in the 70s. These early warm spells always inspire us to bring out the blender, freeze fresh organic fruit, and get creative in the kitchen. This ice cream is a favorite with our kids—we love scooping it into bowls and topping it with extra sliced strawberries and fresh mint leaves. Sometimes I pour the mixture into popsicle molds instead of the ice cream maker, which makes it a fun frozen treat for summer afternoons (and an easy way to sneak in more fruit!). However you serve it, it’s simple, luscious, and satisfying.

Last week, I received an email from the President of Omega Nutrition. You’re probably familiar with this company—they’re best known for their flaxseed and coconut oils. He offered to send me free samples of their coconut flour, flax flour, and pumpkin seed flour. These unique flours can be used as gluten-free, grain-free, and nut-free baking alternatives. I was especially excited to try the pumpkin seed flour. It just sounded so exotic and new! I had never seen—or baked with—this type of grain-free flour before. Immediately after reading his email, an image of a rich chocolate cake began to take shape in my mind—right down to the minute details of sliced strawberries and mint leaves for garnish.

It's spring and the salad greens are luscious and sweet. Our garden is filled with as many varieties of greens as we could fit. Spicy and mild salad mixes, arugula, spinach, romaine lettuce, butterhead lettuce, bok choy, kale, collards, cilantro, and more are growing out our back door. We have a hundred or so volunteer sunflowers that I have not thinned out yet. Some of them will make great shade later on in the summer for the tender, cool weather-loving greens.

I have a special place in my heart for this phase of life. This is where it all begins—in utero, and then in those first precious days and weeks spent nursing while gazing into your little miracle. Making milk is truly an incredible process. I remember the first sensations of my milk coming in with my firstborn—the tingling, the fullness—and then the gulping, eyes rolling back... “punch drunk on mommy’s milk,” Tom would say.

Rhubarb is not difficult to come by during this season. In fact, you probably have neighbors or friends begging you to haul some away.

Rhubarb can be great in crisps, sauces, or compotes, but the tart, tangy flavor rhubarb offers to gluten-free muffins is unequivocal. These little beauties are delicious hot out of the oven spread with strawberry jam.

Today I have a very simple grain and bean salad recipe for you. Something you can easily whip up if you have leftover grains and beans. My children love this salad. Today I made it for Tom and packed it up for him to take on a two day trip to Seattle.

I have had a number of emails over the summer for a gluten-free flatbread recipe. I also get emails and requests for yeast-free breads. So here is is, the best of all worlds....yeast-free, gluten-free, rice-free, whole grain goodness, and quick & easy! What more could you ask for. Oh yes, it tastes great too.

Today I thought I would share a very simple pancake syrup recipe that is full of blueberry lusciousness. This antioxidant-rich, blueish-purple syrup is great atop freshly made pancakes and also can be used as a Phase 2 Elimination Diet recipe!

The other day, while Tom was out of town, I got home from running a few errands at 5pm. The kids were all hungry and ready for dinner….like now! I had a beautiful fillet of wild Coho salmon which I had bought the previous day, ready to be seasoned and baked. My friend who was helping out with the kids thought I should use some of the blueberries we still had sitting on the counter waiting to be processed and frozen. Mashed blueberries with ginger to top the salmon was her idea. I thought yum, but I don’t have time for that right now.

The sultry days of summer are upon us and refreshing, cooling foods seem to be the daily mainstay. Watermelon has a high water content and is naturally sweet making it perfect for sorbet. This recipe is very easy to make and does not require an ice cream maker.

We had a cooler evening yesterday, perfect for Indian food I thought. I made up a double batch of the Lentil and Spinach Dal recipe from my cookbook along with two different curries. One was a potato chickpea curry and the other was a patty pan squash curry. We served everything over brown basmati rice. With all of the cooked food I like to serve something raw that will help digest the meal.

I received an email from a reader about two weeks ago for an allergen-free ginger cookie. When I saw the recipe I knew I had to give them a try. Here is the lovely email that Pam sent me: Ali, I have been following your blog for a while. We are gluten-free, dairy-free, corn-free, and some other stuff, and I have enjoyed reading your recipes. Recently my niece has been tested as intolerant to gluten, rice, dairy, egg, corn, cane sugar, yeast, vanilla, cinnamon, apple, and others. I sent her family a link to your website for rice-free recipes.

Today I have a delicious Cranberry Orange Punch recipe for you!  Today's punch recipe is very simple to prepare and only takes a few minutes. You'll need one 8-ounce bottle of unsweetened cranberry juice concentrate. I buy it from our local food co-op in the juice isle (it is not refrigerated). Simply mix the cranberry concentrate with sparkling mineral water, orange juice, and either liquid stevia or agave nectar. I like to float orange slices and cinnamon sticks in the punch bowl which add extra flavor and make for a nice presentation.

The holidays are famous for overeating, aren't they? I thought I would share with you a digestion-stimulating herbal tea recipe of ours. It is a unique combination of roots, leaves, and flowers. First you simmer the roots, called a decoction, and then you add the leaves and flowers to steep.

We make a pot of this herbal brew a few times a week. Sometimes we add nettles, sometimes burdock root, but always ginger and licorice.

If you are looking for a great alternative to traditional cheesecake for your Holiday celebrations, I’ve got one for you. A dairy-free, egg-free cheesecake with a gluten-free pastry crust….and the filling? Well, fresh baked sugar pie pumpkin to start, then cashews, and maple syrup….but what else? Hint: it is also soy-free!

This fantastic gluten-free yeast bread recipe utilizes high protein hemp flour along with other gluten-free flours such as teff flour and brown rice flour. It is dark and hearty, perfect for sandwiches. For a slight variation you can create a flavorful "Rye" bread by adding onion powder and caraway seeds.

Here is the feedback from my taste testers: rustic, hearty, "dessert bread," mmm, I'd like to make this!

We really are not just about sweets here. Really, we're not! But this week it seems we are, huh. Hope some of you enjoyed the White Nectarine Ice Cream I posted last weekend. More main dish recipes to come next week I promise!

I wanted to take a moment away from the Elimination Diet frenzy and post a gluten-free cracker recipe. I have been very excited to share this awesome recipe and now is my chance. Before I move on to phase 2 recipes I thought I would offer this to those of you not following the Elimination Diet.

This is a crispy cracker made from cooked quinoa, sorghum flour, extra virgin olive oil, seeds, and NO xanthan gum! It is very easy to make if you own a food processor. Plus, there are so many ways to tweak it.

This vegan nut cheese recipe is perfect for topping homemade gluten-free pizza or for using in between layers of lasagna noodles, vegetables, and sauce. It is easy to make using a high powered blender, such as the Vita-Mix.

I find the flavors of this dairy-free "cheese" sauce are best balanced with the acidity of tomatoes, such as my Homemade Pizza Sauce recipe.

For those of you following a soy-free diet, and who are desperately missing your tamari, I have found a fantastic alternative! The South River Miso Company makes a wonderful gluten/wheat-free and soy-free tamari! How do they do it?

I am sharing a favorite allergy-free cupcake recipe today! This chocolate cupcake is light, moist, easy to make, and has a mild chocolate flavor. The great thing about this recipe is the fact that all children love it, gluten-free or not. This recipe is perfect to serve for a children's birthday party. 

Welcome to Christmas Cookie season! Today I am sharing my recipe for gluten-free and egg-free soft molasses cookies. These cookies are delicious and so easy to make, I am sure you will enjoy them. Although I normally use Sucanat to sweeten them (unrefined dried cane juice), I have also tried making them using coconut sugar. I brought a batch, made with coconut sugar, to our large Thanksgiving gathering this year and they were a hit with the children! I have a 2-pound bag of coconut sugar I am giving away today, so be sure to leave a comment to enter!

Today I am sharing with you a delectable little cookie recipe. A version of chocolate chip cookies that you've probably never seen before. One that doesn't contain any flour, sugar, eggs, or butter. No xanthan gum or starches either. Yep. A true "whole foods" cookie. One that pairs well with a glass of fresh, raw almond milk for dunking.

The base of this cookie is made from almond butter and quinoa flakes. It's a high protein, refined sugar-free, vegan cookie. Crispy on the outside and slightly gooey in the center.

I have something fun planned for today. First, a wonderful gluten-free, casein-free, refined sugar-free muffin recipe to share that is full of healthy ingredients. No starches, no xanthan gum, just a few whole food ingredients. The recipe isn't mine though, it comes from another lovely food blogger, Kelly of The Spunky Coconut!