GRILLED CHEESE 2 WAYS!

Whole Wheat Grilled Cheese With Ham or Plain

Romaine Salad w/ Chickpeas & Grape Tomatoes
Fresh Fruit

The grilled cheese sandwich is made with Cabot cheddar on whole wheat bread. We use Nature's Own Whole Wheat Bread for these. The ingredients are: STONE GROUND WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, WATER, BROWN SUGAR, YEAST, WHEAT GLUTEN, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF EACH OF THE FOLLOWING: SALT, VEGETABLE OIL (SOYBEAN OIL OR CANOLA OIL), DOUGH, CONDITIONERS (SODIUM STEAROYL LACTYLATE, CALCIUM, STEAROYL-2-LACTYLATE, MONOGLYCERIDES, CALCIUM IODATE, ETHOXYLATED MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES, CALCIUM PEROXIDE, DATEM), CULTURED WHEAT FLOUR, VINEGAR, CALCIUM SULFATE, MONOCALCIUM, PHOSPHATE, YEAST FOOD (AMMONIUM SULFATE), SOY LECITHIN. The ham is Boar's head.

The salad is made with canned chickpeas, fresh tomatoes and lettuce. The fruit is fresh. Salad bar available.

I happen to have a sweet tooth which can get me in trouble sometimes !! I do love giving my kids a treat from time to time and they love this recipe for Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Orange Coconut Cream Frosting. They are gluten free.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Orange Coconut Cream Frosting

Gluten-Free, Yeast-Free and Dairy-Free Baking tips: It’s very important to keep the wet and dry ingredients separate until you are ready to bake. Once mixed, a chemical reaction begins between leavening ingredients and acids to “fluff” the batter. Which, if you are familiar with gluten-free and dairy-free baking recipes, you know is paramount in importance. No gluten, no eggs, no yeast to fluff, so, keep the dry stuff and the liquid stuff separate. When your muffin tins are lined, the oven is preheated, you have a spoon ready and a silicone spatula on-hand for folding, then you are ready to mix up wet and dry. “Fold” the batter—don’t beat it up—until mixed. Then carefully, and swiftly, spoon batter into liners and get the tin(s) into the oven (at the same time if you are using two tins). No peeking until the timer goes off. Again, this kind of baking is sensitive so it’s important to keep the temp consistent. It’s worth it!

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Tools:
High powered blender
Sifter or metal/mesh strainer
Large glass bowl
Medium glass bowl
Unbleached Parchment Cupcake Liners
2 cupcake tins**
Large cereal spoon
Whisk

**If you don’t have 2 cupcake tins, cut the recipe in half. It won’t work to make the batter, bake half and then bake the others later. Your second batch will be flat cupcakes (see baking tips above). You can also use mini cupcake tins for bite-sized treats.

Ingredients:
Try to buy everything organic. Here’s why.
Frosting:
1 cup coconut fat from 1-2 cans of coconut milk (not reduced fat)*
1 tsp vanilla
Zest from 1 navel orange
2 tsp light agave nectar

Cake:
Fold-ins
1 cup shredded carrot
1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
1/2 cup shredded coconut, toasted
1/2 cup raisins

Dry Ingredients
3/4 cup almond flour/meal (for fluffier cupcakes, order organic blanched almond flour online from Benefit Your Life it’s the best)
1 cup sweet sorghum flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp aluminum-free baking powder
1/4 tsp fine ground sea salt
1 cup sucanat
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Blend/Wet Ingredients
1 tbsp chia
3/4 cup warm water
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp cold-pressed virgin coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla extract (be sure to use gluten- or alcohol-free if you have a sensitivity)
1/2 tsp fresh ground ginger
1 tbsp fresh orange juice

*Use the remaining liquid coconut milk for a smaller batch of Thai Coconut Curry Soup with Sweet Potato Dumplings, for Easy Chocolate Ice Cream or in the Banana Spinach “Training Wheels” Smoothie. Use the extra orange for Toasted Sesame and Orange Pancake Snackers.

Let’s get started.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cupcake tins with unbleached parchment paper liners. No liners? You can cut unbleached parchment into squares and press them into the tins for DIY tulip liners. They will pop out until they have batter in them to hold them in place, so set them aside if you go this route. Check out this how-to.

Prepare zest and shred carrots. Set aside.

Toast nuts in a small pan over medium for 5 minutes and set aside. Toast coconut separately in a small pan over medium heat for 1-2 minutes and set aside. Coconut browns quickly.

Place chia, water, vinegar, coconut oil, extracts and lemon juice in the blender and let sit for 5 minutes. You want the chia to sit in the liquid to “plumpen,” and you might as well toss all the other goodies in there. After 5 minutes, blend thoroughly.

While blending, in a large bowl, sift together almond flour, sorghum flour, sucanat, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt. Work your fingers in a circular motion to press/grind dry ingredients through strainer/sifter. Anything too big to make it through? Just dump it in the mix.

Now, fold together the dry ingredients and the “fold-ins”—carrots, pecans, walnuts, coconut and raisins.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and fold until well mixed.

Spoon batter into cupcake liners so they are 85% full. Now place them in the oven and bake for 20 minutes (15 minutes for minis).

While they bake, open up your cans of coconut milk. Scrape out the fat on the top of the can and place in the medium glass bowl.

Add vanilla extract, agave and zest…

… and whisk together with a few strokes. Place in the fridge to solidify.

Remove cupcakes and allow to cool completely.

Using a pastry bag, a plastic baggie with a small whole in the corner, or with a trusty spoon or knife, top your cupcakes.

A little goes a long way with the frosting and the cupcakes are plenty amazing without frosting if you want to try them that way. You can also top with chopped and toasted pecans, coconut and/or walnuts.

Here are what minis will look like: