Macaroni and Cheese (with butternut squash or califlower)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni
nonstick cooking spray
1 TBS olive oil
1 TBS all-purpose flour
1/2 cup nonfat milk (skim)
1/2 cup butternut squash or cauliflower, puree
8 oz cheddar cheese
4 oz cream cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp pepper

Instructions:
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the macaroni and cook according to package directions until al dente. Drain in a colander.
2. While the macaroni is cooking, coat a large saucepan with cooking spray and heat over medium heat.
3. Add the oil, then the flour, and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture resembles a thick paste but has not browned (1-2 minutes)
4. Add the milk and cook, stirring every now and then, until the mixture begins to thicken (3-4 minutes).
5. Add the vegetable puree, cheddar, cream cheese, and seasonings, stir until cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth. Stir in the macaroni and serve warm.

Notes: add some milk to purée to make it easier to pour and add extra milk in the end if it's too thick.

Submitted by: Jenie Rainey

Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins Made with Coconut Flour

Ingredients

1/4 cup coconut flour, sifted after measuring
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup blueberries (make sure they're thoroughly dry)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease six wells of a standard muffin pan, or line them with lightly greased muffin papers.
2. Sift together the coconut flour and baking powder, and mix until well blended.
3. Stir together the eggs, butter, honey, salt, and vanilla and almond extracts until smooth.
4. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until there are no lumps. Gently fold the blueberries into the batter until evenly incorporated.
5. Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each about half full.
6. Bake the muffins for about 16 to 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let them cool for about 5 minutes in the pan, then transfer them to a rack to cool.
7. Yield: 6 muffins.

Tips from our bakers

• For maximum coconut flavor, enjoy these muffins warm from the oven. If you're making these a day or two ahead, or if you're planning to freeze them, add 1/4 teaspoon coconut flavor.

Submitted by: Jenie Rainey from King Arthur Flour

Soba Noodles & Almond Butter Sauce

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons MaraNatha Organic Raw Creamy Almond Butter
• 2 tablespoons warm water
• 1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 1 garlic clove, grated
• 1 to 2 teaspoons your favorite hot sauce or sriracha
• Juice of ½ a lime
• Soba noodles

Instructions:

Mix all but noodles together in small bowl.  (you might want to add a little water to it to thin it out), toss just-cooked soba noodles (we like the 100 percent buckwheat ones) with the savory almond butter sauce.

You can enjoy the noodles cold or at room temperature, making them perfect to grab as a snack. 

Submitted by: Jenie Rainey

Zebra Caramel Popcorn

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 40 mins

Ingredients:
POPCORN: 1/2 cup Organic Corn Kernels (or about 9 cups popcorn)

CARAMEL COATING:
1/2 cup Butter
1/4 cup Raw Honey (or Agave)
1 cup Coconut Sugar
1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

WHITE CHOCOLATE:
1/2 cup Unsweetened Coconut Shreds
1/2 cup Cacao Butter, melted
1 1/2 Tablespoons Vanilla Protein Powder
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2 teaspoons Liquid Stevia

DARK CHOCOLATE: 1/2 cup Sugar-Free Chocolate Chips

Instructions

1. Pop the corn kernels in a popcorn popper and remove any kernels that may have not popped. Place in a very large mixing bowl. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a baking sheeting with parchment paper.
2. In a saucepan on the stove, melt the butter. Add the honey and coconut sugar. Bring to a boil and stir constantly for about 5 minutes until the caramel thickens and darkens in color. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Pour the caramel over the popcorn and gently but quickly stir to coat.
3. Spread popcorn out on prepared cookie sheet. Place in the oven to bake for 15 minutes, stirring halfway through. While popcorn is baking, add the coconut shreds to a food processor and mix until completely smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until well combined.
4. Remove popcorn from oven. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Drizzle popcorn with melted chocolates and place in the fridge until set (about 20 minutes in the fridge but you can speed up this process by placing in the freezer if you’d like). Break popcorn into pieces and enjoy! Store popcorn in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Submitted by: Jenie Rainey from Natural sweet recipes

Cinnamon Sweet Potato Chips

Ingredients:

1 large sweet potato (technically, they are yams, so be sure you know what your grocery store/market calls them. They should be orange on the inside)
2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil, melted
1/2 teaspoon Sea salt
1 teaspoon Cinnamon

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Wash potatoes, slice as thin as possible and lay thin slices on parchment lined baking sheet.  Drizzle coconut oil evenly, then sprinkle with salt and cinnamon. Gently toss with your hands to coat a bit more. Place on middle rack in oven and bake for 1 hour. Stir chips and rotate pan and bake another 1 hour. Turn off oven and allow chips to sit in the hot oven for an extra 15 minutes. Some thicker chips may be a bit tender still but they will firm up a bit when cooled so be careful not to over bake! It is better to create chewier chips from lack of baking than totally burnt! If chips are not baked until crisp, they will soften a bit more when stored for a few days. If they are firm and crisp once cooled, they will keep nice and crisp for a few days when stored in an airtight container at room temperature. 

Submitted by: Jenie Rainey from Natural Sweet Recipes

Chocolate-Avocado Banana Bread

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 1/2 small firm-ripe avocado, chopped
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 3 very ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (or almond flour)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup sugar (or Coconut sugar or Swerve granular sugar)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• Large pinch ground allspice
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons semisweet chocolate chips (Lily's dark chocolate chips no sugar)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9- by 5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
Pulse the avocado, egg, vanilla and zest in a food processor until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl, and fold in the bananas.
Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and allspice in a medium bowl. Fold the flour mixture and 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips into the avocado mixture until just combined (it's OK if there are some lumps). Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan, and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons chocolate chips. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edges, and let cool completely in the pan on a rack. The bread can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Submitted By: Jenie Rainey from Food Network

Avocado Caprese Salad

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh arugula
• 2-3 campari or cocktail style tomatoes, sliced
• ½ avocado, pitted and sliced
• 3 slices fresh mozzarella cheese
• fresh basil leaves
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (I prefer the fruitiest, lightest flavored)
• 1½ teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• generous pinch of sugar or dollop of honey
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Assemble the arugula, tomato, avocado slices and mozzarella in a serving bowl. Top with torn or slivered basil leaves. Whisk the extra virgin olive oil in a small bowl with the balsamic vinegar, sugar or honey and season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste and pour over the salad. Toss to coat and serve.

Submitted By: Jenie Rainey from Foodie Crush

Extra Crisp Jicama Fries gluten free, keto & paleo

Ingredients

• 1 medium or large jicama
• 2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil to taste
• flakey sea salt to taste
• black pepper freshly ground to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C. Brush a baking dish or rimmed tray with olive oil.
2. Rinse and peel your jicama. Carefully cut in half, place cut-side down and slice roughly 1/2-inch thick pieces (this will keep the jicama stable). Slice the pieces further into 'fries', keeping in mind that the thinner your fries, the faster they'll cook!
3. Add jicama fries to prepared baking dish, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Roast for 45-60 minutes, until golden and crisp, tossing them about half way through. 
4. Serve right away with mayo (highly suggested!).
   
   Submitted By: Jenie Rainey from Gnom Gnom

Gluten Free Red Velvet Cupcakes (No Refined Sugar!)

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:
• 2 cups almond flour or sunflower seed flour
• 3 Tbsp coconut flour
• 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 cup coconut oil (melted)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• a few drops of red food coloring, I prefer to use this one since it is made from veggies and has no synthetic dyes

Cream Cheese Frosting:
• 4 ounces unsalted butter, softened
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

Cupcakes:
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Combine dry ingredients.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
4. Line a muffin tin with cupcake wrappers and fill 3/4 of the way with batter.
5. Bake for 20 minutes.
6. Cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
7. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer. With the mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar a cup at a time until smooth and creamy. Beat in the vanilla extract.

Submitted by: Jenie Rainey from Almost Supermom