Fruit leather packs a sweet, tarty chew that’s ready at a moment’s notice. I used strawberries and raspberries for this fruit leather recipe, but you have a lot of options.

You can use just about any kind of berry to make this fruit leather. Some fruits and berries work better than others on their own, however combining fruits in a fruit leather can bring the best of flavors and textures together, and create a new flavors.

In general, apple, apricots, berries with seeds, cherries, peaches, pairs, nectarines, pineapple, and strawberries work well on their own as fruit leather. Blueberries are best combined with another fruit that works well, and the same goes for bananas, cranberries, grapes, and plums. But don’t let me hold you back. Explore. Especially if you have extra ripened fruit, or frozen fruit you’ve had around for a while.

You’ll want to take any pits out of the fruit before you start. For seeds, as in raspberries, I blend once, separate out the seeds, and then add any additions and blend again.

You can dry the fruit leather in a dehydrator, or an oven set at a low temperature (between 105°F/40°C and 120°F/50°C is good for about 8-10 hours, depending on your dehydrator or oven).

There seems to be some controversy about what is the best temperature to dry fruit leather so as not to denature the enzymes in the fruit. If you’re not worried about that, you can dry the fruit at up to 140°F/60°C, however I keep the temperature at about 105°F/40°C because I do want to retain as much of the fruit’s natural state (enzymes intact). I have an Excalibur dehydrator, so I found this post helpful in explaining how the temperature setting works for this brand. I’ve also found that 105°F/40°C for about 10 hours works well for fruit leather. And it’s really easy to place it in the oven or dehydrator overnight and then pull it out in the morning. To speed up the drying process, just increase the temperature.

Whether you’re using a dehydrator or an oven, you’ll want to make sure your fruit is on top of a non-stick surface. You can use parchment paper, a non-stick bake mat, or the non-stick sheets that come with your dehydrator. And if you want to conserve energy, you can leave the fruit outside on a hot day, covered with cheesecloth or paper towel.

Some other nice additions to the recipe might be some vanilla, cinnamon, lavender, lemon zest, rosemary, or other spices and herbs. You can also add a bit of lemon juice if you’re concerned about the fruit darkening too much (especially with apples and pears).

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Bring together some carrots, parsely, green onions, cumin, eggs, garlic, a lemon, sesame seeds, and a few other delicious ingredients and you have vitamin-rich falafels. This is not your average falafel. I’ve used quinoa for a gluten-free version; you can use nuts and seeds if you’re making the grain-free version.

Just to warn you, after eating some of the raw falafel batter, I was told that I had the distinct aroma of Mediterranean food, which can probably be attributed to the cumin, sesame, and garlic in the recipe. Frankly, this is so tasty, I don’t care. Just share and it won’t matter.

For the grain-free falafel, I used blanched almond flour, but you can change it up by using 1/2 cup of almond flour and 1/2 cup of finely chopped pumpkin seeds, or other ground seed or nut to add some crunch to the falafel. You can also used soaked nuts if you prefer.

The gluten-free falafel has a bit of a crunch thanks to the quinoa. I use red quinoa, but you can use any quinoa you have on hand. Just remember to cook the quinoa before adding it to the falafel batter.

These taste good cold too, especially in a salad, just in case you need to grab a quick carry-on snack. Or, for dinner, this meal goes well with fried cauliflower and yogurt tahini sauce, or as a salad with chopped tomatoes and cucumbers. I use the same tahini sauce for both recipes, and just change up the herbs that I add depending on what I have on hand. For the falafel salad, I thinned out the tahini sauce for more of a salad dressing-consistency.

These recipes were inspired by Sprouted Kitchen’s Quinoa Falafel recipe.

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I’ve been in search of excuses to eat yogurt tahini sauce recipes that go well with yogurt tahini sauce. Two of my favorites right now are fried cauliflower and falafel (a grain-free AND a gluten-free version, coming soon).

I first had fried cauliflower about a year ago at a Greek restaurant and it was deep-fried, and great, but I don’t want to consume a cup of oil with my meal on a regular basis. So, I found this one by Yotam Ottolenghi. Oh, and if you aren’t familiar with this book, I recommend it, although this recipe is not in it.

I’ve made yogurt tahini sauce a couple of ways, and for this dish I prefer to add garlic to the sauce, but you can leave it out if you prefer. And you can tone down the lemon juice a bit to mellow it out further. I prefer a punchier version of sauce to go with the milder taste of the fried cauliflower. But just for the record, I could eat fried cauliflower even without the sauce.

I followed Yotam’s recipe pretty closely, but I did vary on a few techniques, measurements, and ingredients. Take at peek at his, because you might prefer it. Also, I didn’t have pomegranate molasses and subbing it with honey didn’t seem right. Again, it’s up to.

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I’m always looking for portable snacks and treats to help keep us going a little longer, whether at school, work, travel, or play. Here’s a light, sweet, gluten-free snack that’s easy to pack. If you like breakfast bars that are made of light, puffed rice and other gluten-free grains, this recipe is for you. And if you eat grain-free, the gluten-free puffed grains can easily be subbed with other great stuff.

The freeze-dried raspberries really give this treat a sweet, tangy flavor, and the pistachios add an additional texture to the raspberries and puffed rice. I found the freeze-dried raspberries at Trader Joe’s, and you can also order them online from places like Honeyville Grain.

I’m not a big grain-eater, even the gluten-free kind, but I do occasionally have some rice or quinoa, and a bit of corn every so often. If you’re strictly grain-free (or on SCD) you can easily substitute the puffed grain with an the equivalent amount of nuts, seeds, dried and freeze-dried fruit to make a grain-free version of this treat.

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You may be getting down to the wire on Passover and Easter menu planning (or maybe just I am), so I wanted to share a simple meal that I’m making, in case you’re still in search of ideas and recipes. I’ve also created a quick list of some of my other recipes that you may want to add to your menu.

I’ve always loved Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food, which is all about herbs, spices, and other seasoning techniques. This recipe for Moroccan carrots is a great way to introduce something with a nice collection of spices and a savory flair.

I’ve also added this simple brisket recipe because it is a treat for meat lovers, as I learned from the omnivores in my family. I encourage you to splurge on local, grass-fed beef if you have a good source for this cared-for beef. Since grass-fed beef tends to have less fat, slow-cooking with lots of seasoning is a great way to cook beef that tends to be a bit firmer than corn-fed beef.

Some Passover and Easter Recipes

Just about every baked treat on Comfy Belly is good for Passover if you’re following guidelines that allow baking soda and baking powder. It just worked out that way because I don’t use yeast to leaven baked goods. With that said, here are some great all-around Passover and Easter recipes.

• lemon vanilla macaroons
• chocolate macaroons
• very vanilla cupcakes
• strawberry shortcakes
• chicken pot pie
• roasted string beans
• roasted mashed cauliflower
• vegetarian and chicken dumplings
• dry rub for roasted poultry
• fish sticks
• chicken nuggets

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I ruminated way too long on what to post next, and the result is that I’m quite a bit late on posting here. I try to post once a week or so, but the recent days and weeks have left me way too busy to finish a recipe thought, or test it.

I’m eager to share my fried cauliflower and yogurt-tahini sauce with you, but then I thought that maybe I post too many recipes using cauliflower. I also thought of another sweet baked bread recipe using olive oil and lemons, but I just posted a recipe on banana bread. And I haven’t posted a “meal” in a while.

But then two nights ago I had a sudden brainstorm about pecan sandies and almond flour. The next thing I knew I was baking cookies. The result is a tasty, crunchy, salted pecan cookie. The salting is optional, but worthwhile. It gives the cookie a little kick of extra flavor.

This is a satisfyingly crunchy cookie, especially for an almond flour cookie, thanks in part to the pecans. I used raw pecans, but roasted will work as well. And it’s egg-free. And you can never have too many cookie recipes.

Note that these cookies lose their crunchiness over the course of a few days when sitting out in the open air, especially if it’s humid outside. This is primarily because honey is hydroscopic, which means it absorbs moisture in the air. So it helps to store the cookies in a dry place after they are fully cooled. To get the crunch back, you can put them in a dehydrator for 30 minutes on a low temperature, or place them in the oven for 10 minutes on a low temperature (below 200 degrees F).

Note that I’ve used this recipe with both blanched almond flour and almond meal, and both work well. I happen to prefer the almond flour because it doesn’t have the almond skin pieces in each cookie.

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Bees are important. To find out why, see this, read this, or search for colony collapse on the Internet. We rely on bees for so many things, and they are a marker for how well the environment is fairing.

Every time I use honey in a recipe, I think of bees. So much so that I’ve switched to using maple syrup in many of my recipes to take a load off their labor and harsh conditions. There are a few recipes that I won’t stray from though. I always use honey in honey mustard dressings. (Note: maple syrup is not SCD legal, so stay with honey)

My creamy honey mustard dressing works well as both a dressing and a dip, however I’ve been using this vinaigrette dressing for many of my salads. This recipe is egg-free, if that’s important to you, and is lighter than the creamy version because it doesn’t use homemade mayonnaise.

I use a fruity-flavored olive oil, which makes a bit of a difference in the overall flavor of the vinaigrette, but any vegetable or nut oil will work with this dressing. I also prefer a stone ground mustard, but again, any mustard will work. Do be careful with spicy mustard though, unless you like your dressing with some heat.

As for the salad, I’m just trying to use up some blood oranges and avocado that I’ve had sitting around on my counter way too long. The arugula is my leaf of choice these days. Slightly nutty and bitter, with an amazing bite to it for a small leaf. It’s also great mixed in with some romaine lettuce, which adds some crunch to your salad. Or go leafless and just slice up a bunch of avocados and oranges, and sprinkle with sliced, toasted almonds. Up to you. Enjoy!

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I’m finally getting around to using coconut flour and nut flour in a single recipe. Both flours offer great health benefits, and can compliment each other in the right ratio and accompanying list of ingredients. My first foray was with my banana bread recipe.

The banana bread that I make with almond flour is rich and dense, thanks mostly to the almond flour and bananas. By re-balancing with some coconut flour, the bread comes out lighter without loosing the moist taste. And for folks who avoid coconut flour due to texture or taste, you will not taste either in this recipe.

On my very long list of to-dos for this blog is to offer up a post on the ins and outs of coconut flour, but until I get to that, here’s a quick list of coconut flour sources. If  you have another source for coconut flour, please feel free to add it to the comments.

Coconut flour sources

• Nuts Online
• Tropical Traditions
• Bob’s Red Mill
• Edward & Sons Trading Co
• More Than Alive
• Wilderness Family Naturals

I’m also very grateful to be able to purchase pasture-raised chicken eggs from my local PCC market. They’re twice the cost of the other eggs I’ve been purchasing, which are cage-free, however I do notice the difference in the yolk, size, and shell color and thickness. The yolk is a bit brighter, the shell a bit thicker, and the shell color has a distinct hue.

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What do you get when you bring cocoa (cacao), coconut, and almonds together? In this case, very decadent chocolate macaroons. And while I’m not a huge consumer of shredded coconut, I enjoy a few macaroons every now and then, including these lemon, vanilla, chocolate-coated macaroons.

I’ve been playing around with coconut oil and cocoa butter for this recipe, mostly to see how well  each works in place of chocolate. In the end, I came up with three recipes for chocolate macaroons. I love all three, but, since one of them uses semi-sweet chocolate chips with sugar in the chocolate, my preference is the two sugar-free macaroons recipes. The even-better-news is that they’re all gluten-free, if you’re after that.

The macaroons made with cocoa butter are firmer than the coconut oil macaroons at room temperature. The macaroons made with semi-sweet chocolate are as firm as the cocoa butter macaroons, which makes sense because cocoa butter and other cocoa solids are ingredients in chocolate. I prefer to store all three kinds in the refrigerator, but you can store them at room temperature as well.

Feel free to use the raw version of the cocoa butter and cocoa, if you have it. I had cocoa butter chips on hand that I found on Amazon, so I gave them a try and they did well (although they’re mighty pricey). But you can buy a block of cocoa butter as well, and chop it up.

This recipe was inspired by the Coco Choco Clusters from 101 Cookbooks. The recipe calls for finely ground espresso beans, but I’m thinking that there’s more than enough caffeine for me in the chocolate or cocoa. Just an idea though. Another idea is to add ground vanilla bean to the recipe.

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I’ve been playing around with the whole “fry” thing. The butternut squash fries recipe was a hit for many, and for some, well, let’s just say that it didn’t quite satisfy their desire for a “potato-like” fry. I too was looking for a more authentic fry fix, and as I suspected, parsley and parsnip roots fit the bill.

Parsley root and parsnip look very much alike, however they do have a subtly different taste. To me, parsley root tastes a bit more herbal and has a sweeter aroma when baking. Both have slightly more flavor, sweetness, and aroma than potatoes, in a welcoming sort of way. But what’s really nice is that both have the texture of potatoes when baked.

So seasoning is important here. A good amount of sea salt, and possibly black pepper, garlic powder or fresh crushed garlic, and maybe some Parmesan cheese if you want to have garlic/cheese fries. The garlic cheese fries were quite delicious and had an extra crunch to them. Quite a satisfying texture indeed.

Note for SCDers: It’s not entirely clear if either of these roots are SCD legal, but I suspect it will depend more on you and how your body handles either of these. Parsnip is related to the carrot, so I would think if you can handle carrots, then you can handle these.

For the roasted chutney, I roasted cherry tomatoes, red pepper, and onions according to my recipe for panzanella salad and then gave it a whirl in my food processor. Of course, the fries will also taste great with ketchup.

I hope you’ll enjoy these as much as I do! And, if you want the chutney to last longer, try canning it using a sterilized jar. I just came across this great recipe for tomato chutney that includes directions on how to do so.

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