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Quirky Cooking

Grain Free, Dairy Free, Christmas Menu (GAPS/Paleo)

QuirkyJo by QuirkyJo
December 7, 2014
in All in one Meals, Breakfasts, Cakes, Chocolate, Christmas, Dairy Free, Desserts, Dinners, GAPS, Gluten Free, Grain Free, Health Tips, Holidays, Meat, Naturally Sweetened, Paleo, Raw, Thermomix, Tips
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quirky cooking gaps paleo christmas menu

Grain free, dairy free, gut-friendly ideas for a healthy, happy Christmas day!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here… there’s bits of tinsel scattered through the house where the puppy has been attacking decorations, there’s sneaky presents stuffed under blankets in cupboards to keep them hidden from little eyes, there’s Christmas party invitations stuck on the fridge, special treats in the freezer, kids practicing the Christmas play for performing at the nursing home tomorrow, Christmas music playing… and the wet season has finally arrived, so there’s rumblings of thunder in the background, sudden rain showers, flickering electricity, fans on high speed, screeching parrots and croaking frogs. I love Christmas time. Even if it is stinking hot here in Far North Queensland.

This year, we won’t be having all our old favourites on Christmas day… no blueberry cinnamon scrolls for breakfast, no hot spelt rolls slathered in butter to dip in the gravy, no baked sweet potatoes, no chocolates, no sweet, sticky pecan pie with coconut ice cream… We are on GAPS these days, a grain/dairy/sugar/starch free gut-healing diet, and we’re still in the intro phase. But you know what? I’m not even worried about all those foods I’m going to ‘miss out on’ this year. I’m excited about all the foods we CAN have, and I’m looking forward to showing you some of my ideas! Because I know we are not the only family who will be facing Christmas on a restricted diet this year, and I’m sure some of you are feeling a little bit overwhelmed. So let’s do some brainstorming and come up with some ideas that will make this the most delicious, gut-friendly Christmas ever! Yay!

Do you have special diets or family members with allergies to cook for this Christmas? I’d love for you to share your menu ideas, tips, and recipe links in the comments below, so we can all be inspired by each other!

You should also read my friend (and health coach) Leah Follett’s Top 10 Tips for a Healthy Christmas – there’s some great ideas there!

And for those of you who ARE able to have the cinnamon scrolls, bread rolls, ice cream and chocolate this Christmas, there are plenty of healthy recipes and ideas for you too, in my Quirky Cookbook and on my blog! If there’s something you’re particularly looking for, type the name or main ingredients into the search box on the right side of the page, or send me a message and I’ll help you out. I’ll also be sharing plenty more healthy Christmas recipe ideas on my Facebook page, Instagram, and Twitter in the next few weeks.

 

My Quirky Christmas Menu!

 

 ~ Breakfast ~

I prefer a savoury breakfast on Christmas morning, there’s enough sweets making the rounds on Christmas day, so no need to make breakfast sweet too! And if you’re eating a GAPS/Paleo diet, you’ll be used to your savoury breakfasts, anyway. Here’s a couple of recipes you may like to try – they’re both delicious, and both serve approx. 6 people.

Big Breakfast 

(recipe in Quirky Cooking Cookbook, pg 55)

big breakfast grain free paleo gaps quirky cooking
The ‘Big Breakfast’ with ‘Paleo Bread’, from my cookbook

Spicy turkey patties – omit cayenne pepper if unable to have chilli; swap tamari for coconut aminos or salt; use homemade tomato sauce or omit if unable to have tomatoes

Savoury mushrooms – swap tamari for coconut aminos or salt

Soft eggs in sesame seeds – replace with some steamed broccoli and cauliflower if you can’t have eggs, and sprinkle with seeds; omit seeds if not trialled yet

Steamed tomatoes with macadamia cheese or sheep’s feta and basil – swap for steamed asparagus if unable to have tomatoes; macadamia cheese can be made with blanched almonds if desired, and savoury yeast flakes replaced with herb salt, or omit if you can’t have either nuts or dairy

Paleo bread – recipe pg 155 in my cookbook, or Almond & Linseed Bread, or the basic GAPS pumpkin bread 

Add some avocado slices and some sauerkraut (if you can have it) on the side!

or

Christmas Breakfast Casserole

(see recipe here)

christmas breakfast casserole quirky cooking
Christmas Breakfast Casserole

This casserole can be made ahead and frozen, then popped into the fridge the night before and baked Christmas morning! Layers of cauliflower ‘rice’, savoury spicy beef or turkey mince, and an egg and zucchini topping is baked in the oven for a satisfying and delicious breakfast. See the GAPS/Paleo friendly version below the main recipe on the recipe card.

Add some avocado slices and some sauerkraut (if you can have it) on the side!

~ Lunch ~

If you’re on the earlier stages of GAPS, you may be sad about not being able to have a traditional roast dinner. But I find slow cooked meat in broth very tasty and delicious if it’s done right, and the veges turn out very flavoursome too! Here’s how to cook a chicken in broth. The same method could be used for duck or turkey breast. Or try pork belly with plenty of rosemary, thyme, garlic and onion – the fat melts in your mouth cooked this way, and the broth is delicious, and can be reduced to make a rich gravy.

Any vegetables can be cooked in the broth once the meat is removed, then veges removed and broth reduced to make a starch-free gravy. Serve with cauliflower mash (my recipe for that will be up soon), and some sauerkraut on the side.

Slow Cooked Chicken in Broth, with herbs and vegetables

slow cooked chicken in broth quirky cooking
Slow cooked chicken in broth, with herbs and vegetables
Slow Cooked Chicken in Broth with herbs and vegetables
2014-12-07 09:46:00
Serves 6
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Ingredients
  1. 1 large, organic, free range chicken
  2. filtered water
  3. 2 roughly chopped carrots
  4. 1 sliced leek, disgard tough ends
  5. 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
  6. zest of one lemon
  7. fresh herbs, roughly chopped (parsley, oregano, thyme, sage, rosemary) or dried mixed herbs
  8. Celtic sea salt
  9. freshly ground black pepper (opt)
  10. 2 Tbspns chicken or duck fat
  11. approx 4 cups mixed vegetables - sliced zucchini, broccoli florets, peas, quartered yellow squashes, cubed pumpkin, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, etc.
  12. 2 Tbspns powdered gelatine, Great Lakes brand (collagen joint care, red pack), mixed into 2 Tbspns water
Instructions
  1. Place whole chicken into a heavy pot on the stove (needs to be at least 4 litres), or into a slow cooker, and add enough filtered water to surround chicken, leaving the back of the chicken out of the water.
  2. Add carrots, leek, and garlic to the water around the chicken, sprinkle chicken with herbs, lemon zest, and salt and pepper.
  3. Place the lid on pot and simmer on low for 2-3 hours; or cook in slow cooker on high for 4 hours, or until tender.
  4. Once the chicken is tender, remove carefully from pot/slow cooker to a large serving platter, cover with foil to keep warm and place into 100C oven to keep warm.
  5. Place vegetables and chicken or duck fat into the simmering broth, cover, and cook for about 10-15 mins, or until soft.
  6. Remove veges from broth with a slotted spoon, arranging around chicken. Cover with foil and place back in warm oven.
  7. To make gravy, add gelatine and water mixture to broth, and simmer in pot on the stove, stirring occasionally until reduced by half or 3/4, keeping a constant eye on it so it doesn't burn! Add salt and pepper to taste.
  8. Serve chicken and veges with gravy, with a side of cauliflower mash or paleo/gaps bread rolls. (See bread recipes in breakfasts, cook in muffin cups).
By Quirky Cooking
Quirky Cooking https://www.quirkycooking.com.au/

Roast Turkey, Duck, Chicken or Baked Ham

For those of you who can have roast meat, try this recipe from Nourished Kitchen for a succulent slow roasted turkey, especially if you have an organic, free range, pastured turkey. They are leaner, and can end up dry and tough if not cooked long and slow, with plenty of basting towards the end. It needs to cook for about 14 hours (a little more won’t hurt), so start the night before. I would swap the white wine for homemade chicken broth, (or use the quicker chicken broth recipe in my cookbook), and use chicken or duck fat instead of butter to make it dairy free if needed.

The Nourished Kitchen also has recipes for slow roasted duck with sour cherry sauce, roast chicken with prosciutto and herbs – I think it’s fast becoming one of my favourite websites!

If you can get your hands on pastured, nitrate free ham, you might like to try this Honey Baked Ham from Divine Health. Delicious! If you can’t have orange juice yet, just swap it for pork bone broth. That may be more to Australian tastes anyway, as honey baked ham can be a bit too sweet for some.

Serve roast meat with roasted veges, or a roasted vegetable salad. We also love jelly salad on the side with our Christmas dinner (an American tradition) – the recipe is in my cookbook (pg 81) and you can use powdered gelatine instead of agar powder and change the fruit around to suit what you can have.

Other side dishes could include a warm cauliflower couscous salad (my recipe for that coming soon), American Chop Salad if you can have some raw veges (pg 78 of my cookbook), homemade cranberry sauce to go with turkey (use my jam recipe for this, with frozen cranberries, swapping the agar for gelatine), and paleo bread rolls made from the bread recipes above in Breakfasts, cooked in muffin cups.

~ Dessert ~

It’s Christmas. There’s got to be dessert, right? And if you’re on GAPS, I imagine you’re hanging out for something sweet! Just remember to take it easy on the sweets as it can set you back to have very much – you’re trying to kill off those bad bugs, not feed them.

For a healthy dessert that’s not too high in sugars, I really don’t think you can go past a dairy free, raw ‘cheesecake’. They look amazing, taste delicious, and can be prepped ahead and frozen. Another plus is that when you consume fruit with fat and protein, it helps prevent a rapid spike in insulin. In a raw cheesecake, the fruit is mixed with fat (coconut oil, coconut cream, nuts, coconut) and protein (gelatine, nuts), so it seems to me to be the way to go. (If you can’t have nuts or coconut yet, see the ideas below.) Here’s my two favourite ‘cheesecake’ recipes…

Cherry Delight Cheesecake

(Recipe in Quirky Cooking cookbook, pg 202)

cherry delight cheesecake dairy free quirky cooking
Cherry Delight Cheesecake, from my Quirky Cooking cookbook

This recipe is so popular, I’ve even had someone write a poem about it! To make it GAPS/Paleo friendly, there’s a few things you can do:

– Make sure the nuts are activated or soaked (as mentioned in recipe), and use whatever nuts you can handle – macadamias, blanched almond, or cashews. They will all work.

– If you can’t have shredded coconut, just use some extra nuts instead.

– Raw dates can be omitted and a little coconut oil added instead to hold base together, with a little honey.

– Use vanilla powder or the seeds from 1-2 vanilla beans instead of the paste.

– Swap maple syrup for honey, halving amount (or to taste).

– Use Great Lakes gelatine powder instead of agar powder.

– Use fresh cherries instead of a jar of cherries, cutting in half and removing pits; or use frozen cherries, or other berries of choice.

– For the jelly, you’ll need 2 cups (500 ml) fruit juice, but it needs to be homemade, not store-bought processed juice. You can juice frozen berries (through a juicer) or blend the berries in the Thermomix then strain the juice through a nut milk bag. Add some fresh orange juice too if you can have that, to help make up the 2 cups. If you don’t have enough, you can halve the jelly recipe, and just have a thinner layer of jelly on top.

One more tip – make sure you freeze the filling until solid before adding the jelly layer, otherwise you’ll have an oozing mess! The base and filling can be made ahead of time, wrapped and in the freezer, then the cherries and jelly added about half an hour before ready to serve. The jelly will set very quickly if you place it in the freezer to set – but don’t leave it in the freezer once set or jelly will crystallise. Store in the coldest part of the fridge.

Raw Macadamia Lime Cheesecake

(recipe in my Quirky Cooking cookbook, pg 201, and on my blog here)

raw macadamia lime cheesecake quirky cooking
Raw Macadamia Lime Cheesecake – recipe in my cookbook & on my blog

 See the tips above for this cheesecake as well – soaked nuts of choice, homemade coconut cream, honey instead of maple syrup, etc.

Christmas Cake/Pudding: I know a lot of people like a more traditional Christmas pudding or Christmas cake for dessert, and I am working on a grain free, GAPS friendly recipe, but it’s not ready yet… stay tuned! We are also going to work on some GAPS ginger cookies, because that’s what my kids love to have in their stockings. And I’ll be posting some stocking stuffer ideas as well, soon.

One more little treat to replace that after dinner chocolate… 

White Chocolate Berry Bark

white chocolate berry bark dairy free quirky cooking
White Chocolate Berry Bark – a dairy free, naturally sweet treat
White Chocolate Berry Bark
2014-12-07 12:02:45
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Ingredients
  1. 200g raw cacao butter, roughly chopped
  2. seeds scraped from 1-2 vanilla beans
  3. 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
  4. approx 80g raw honey, or to taste
  5. 200-300g frozen blueberries and raspberries
Instructions
  1. Place cacao butter into Thermomix bowl and chop 10 sec/speed 8.
  2. Scrape down sides, add vanilla bean seeds, salt, and 50g honey.
  3. Melt and mix 8 mins/37C/speed 3.
  4. Meanwhile, spread frozen berries out onto a baking paper lined biscuit tray, breaking raspberries apart a little so they are spread over tray.
  5. When cacao mixture is ready, drizzle evenly over berries, scraping out bowl to get all the vanilla seeds and honey.
  6. Drizzle remaining honey (to taste) over berries and cacao, and place tray in freezer.
  7. Once frozen solid, break into pieces and store in a container in the freezer.
Notes
  1. This bark really has to be eaten straight from the freezer, as it will melt quite quickly.
  2. You could add some chopped, activated nuts if you like, to make it go further and to add some protein.
  3. Don't overdo it if you are on GAPS, as you may find too many berries will not agree with you! Just a handful of berries per day is enough, so share it around.
By Quirky Cooking
Quirky Cooking https://www.quirkycooking.com.au/

 I hope you can get some ideas from my menu, and please go ahead and share your ideas in the comments below! As I mentioned, I will also be sharing more ideas on my Facebook page, Instagram and Twitter, over the next few weeks.

Happy Christmas menu planning, I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

Jo xx

Tags: breakfastChristmasdairy freedessertdinnergapsGluten FreeGrain FreehealthholidayslunchmenuNaturally SweetenedpaleosnackThermomixwholefood
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Comments 6

  1. Pingback: Talking to Quirky Jo about Co-ops and Christmas | Lisa Corduff
  2. Jacinta says:
    5 years ago

    I am so sick of being sick at Christmas time!
    This year I am planning on making delicious AND nourishing food on the day instead of making food that tastes good but makes me so ill.
    Thanks for these recipes Jo! xxx

    Reply
  3. Pingback: Top 14 Wholesome Christmas Sweets, Treats and Desserts – Wholesome Mum
  4. Jocelyn Widmer says:
    5 years ago

    Hi Jo
    Do you have a Christmas cake receipe

    Thanks

    Reply
    • QuirkyJo says:
      5 years ago

      I don’t, sorry, but I have a grain free steamed pudding recipe if that helps? http://www.quirkycooking.com.au/2014/12/grain-free-steamed-christmas-puddings-gaps-paleo-friendly/

      Reply
  5. Auds says:
    4 years ago

    I just purchased your quirky cooking recipe book from the thermoix online shop. I’ve just seen your cherry delight cheesecake & would love to get your recipe before i receive the book as i have a christmas party with friends tomorrow & one of my friends is gluten & diary free & i think this recipe would be perfect! It looks sooo delicious. Is there any way i can get it before my book arrives

    Reply

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Back-to-school lunch box idea! Crusty, chewy, chee Back-to-school lunch box idea! Crusty, chewy, cheese puffs - we love them hot or cold, slathered with butter or plain, stuffed with sandwich fillings or dipped into soup. Mmmm! 💛 Tap on the link in my bio for the recipe. (And if you search “SBS Food Jo Whitton Cheese Puffs” you’ll find a video from the time I made these on @sbsfood. 😊)

https://www.quirkycooking.com.au/2019/04/extra-puffy-brazilian-cheese-puffs-pao-de-queijo/
Chicken Liver Pâté. Mmmmm pâté! 😍 Love it, Chicken Liver Pâté. Mmmmm pâté! 😍 Love it, or hate it? I’ve grown to love it! ❤️

Liver is one of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet, providing anywhere between 10–100 times more nutrients in a single serving than a comparative serving of muscle meat. Benefits of adding liver to your diet include an impressive range of the vitamins and minerals that help to detox the body and build healthy bones and blood. However, many find it difficult to add liver to their diet as it has a different taste and texture to the muscle meats we are used to. Pâté is a great place to start! It’s deliciously creamy, and pairs well with crackers, crudites and breads as a dip or spread.  For kids with sensory issues, roll pate into balls for snacks – many children actually prefer this to meatballs or burgers if they find it difficult to chew meat. 

Ingredients:

4 garlic cloves, chopped
½ brown onion, chopped
2 large sage leaves, chopped, plus extra leaves for garnish if desired
¼ tsp fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
½ tsp fresh thyme leaves
60ml (1/4 cup) chicken stock
300g (1 1/3 cups) ghee, plus 4 Tbsp extra for sealing
400g organic chicken livers, roughly chopped
1 ¼ tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tsp organic red wine vinegar (optional)

The stovetop method is demonstrated in this video - it’s a really simple way to make pâté! If you have a Thermomix you can cook it as follows:

Place garlic and fresh herbs into TM bowl and chop 3 sec/speed 7. Add onion and chop 2 sec/speed 5. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add stock and cook 2 min/100°C/speed 1. Add ghee, chicken livers, salt and pepper and blend 20 sec/speed 7. Scrape down sides and cook 5 min/100°C/speed 3. Continue with method in video.
Hello gorgeous people! 💙 It’s my birthday tod Hello gorgeous people! 💙 It’s my birthday today so I thought I might as well embrace it & share a few fun facts about me that you may not know... 😄😁

✨ Despite my public kinda life (books, speaking on stage, podcasts, cooking videos, social media, answering heaps of messages & emails every day...) I’m actually a bit of an introvert. No really! 😄 I hide away in my small country town on the Atherton Tablelands in FNQ (mostly in my kitchen or office) & prefer hanging out with friends at lakes & waterfalls rather than parties, big noisy groups of people, loud restaurants & busy shopping centres (they exhaust me)!

✨ I like quiet (I often don’t play music on long drives because I like the silence), starry nights, rainforests, beaches, hammocks under trees, watching birds & butterflies, listening to chilled music, & D&M chats with friends & family.

✨ My first career was as an artist. I started off in fine art (sold my first sculpture at 14 & my first drawing at 16), then studied graphic design & illustration & worked in that area for a few years. Once the kids came along I found it too hard to work from home & as I needed to cook so much (for our special diet needs), cooking became my creative outlet.

✨ I started my blog, Quirky Cooking, in 2008 - just as a place to share what I was learning about cooking for special diets & healing with food & also as a way to connect with likeminded people... I was feeling a bit lost without my career, living on a farm in country FNQ & homeschooling 4 small children & despite my introverted ways I wanted people (adults!) to talk to. (I had no idea or intention of starting a business, but here we are! 😄)

✨ Hmm what else... I love road trips (especially with my kids); I love classic old cars (I learnt to drive in a ‘68 Mustang my grandfather bought for me to learn in, on the back roads of Texas); I love Tex-Mex food (my parents are from South-West Texas); I love my pets (they are people too, right??); I love travelling; my kids are my best friends & I’m dreading them moving out but look forward to seeing them spread their wings (they’re 17, 19, 21 & 23); I use too many emojis & exclamation marks 😂!!! & I’m now 48 😱😱😱❤️
Me: Hey Peppy, where’s the cat?? Peppy: 🤔 ... Me: Hey Peppy, where’s the cat??
Peppy: 🤔 .... 🐾 🐾🐾 .... ???
Shadow: Zzzzzzzz

Shadow has taken to sleeping in shopping bags 😄😄 What’s the weirdest place you’ve found your cat sleeping? 💤
These kids MADE MY DAY today!!! I mean, check out These kids MADE MY DAY today!!! I mean, check out the desperation on her face for more creamy chicken & brown rice soup 🤣🤣🤣🤣 and how good is it when a kid loves quirky butter chicken so much he looks like he’s been swimming in it?? 😂🤣😂🤣😂 Love it, thanks for sharing your quirky kid photos, mamas! 😍🤗

PS If you’re hoping for reactions like these to the dinners you serve up this week, try these recipes! Search “quirky butter chicken” and “quirky chicken & brown rice soup” and they’ll pop up. 😘
Yummy Veggie Bake. Do you ever feel terribly bored Yummy Veggie Bake. Do you ever feel terribly bored 🥱 with the same old veggie options for dinner, but really don’t want to spend ages making something a bit fancier? Yep, me too. 

Ok, so here’s great way to change up the veggies for dinner - use what you have (carrot, sweet potato, pumpkin, white potato, swede, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, zucchini...), lightly sauté & steam the veggies, then pour over some cashew milk (or milk, cream or sour cream), add some chopped pickles & boiled eggs, some grated cheese if you like, sprinkle with paprika and bake until browned. I sometimes serve this as a side dish, and sometimes as the main (or only 😄) dish! We love it. 

Gut health tip: Cook the veggies and assemble the casserole (or a couple of them) a day or two ahead and refrigerate, then pop into 180C oven and bake for 40 mins. Chilling cooked potatoes in the fridge for a day or two increases the resistant starch, which is very beneficial for your gut bacteria and helps to decrease inflammation. It will also reduce the rise in blood sugar after your meal and improve insulin sensitivity. ❤️

So there you go, a delicious veggie meal or side dish that can be prepared ahead and popped into the oven at the end of a busy day to both satisfy the family AND improve their health! 😊 Enjoy!
Gut health can be a confusing topic. I think liter Gut health can be a confusing topic. I think literally every person I talk to feels like they need to work on improving their gut health, but most feel overwhelmed or stressed at the thought of researching such a huge topic, figuring out what their individual health needs are, and making diet and lifestyle changes that will get their health back on track.

If you’re looking for a bit of a “Gut Health 101” to help you understand the big picture of health, how gut health affects overall health, and how to improve your gut health (beginning with very simple steps), I highly recommend this free webinar!!

[Tap on this photo via the link in my profile to book your seat!]

This fascinating talk is hosted by Elyse Comerford (@elysenutritionist of @wellbellyhealthclinic). I learn something every time I listen to Elyse teach this webinar, even after working on our family’s gut health for over 6 years. It’s also a great webinar to share with family and friends who don’t quite understand why you are making changes to your diet and lifestyle. A great big THANK YOU to Elyse for sharing this important info! 🤗❤️

There's a live Q&A at the end, so if you have gut health questions for Elyse or myself, or questions about our 8 week Gut Health Formula program, feel free to join in and ask. We look forward to chatting with you next Monday night! 

PS If you won’t be able to attend the webinar live, you can register and watch it later, when you have time. 😊

http://bit.ly/guthealthwebinar_april
Happy Easter! 🌸 I’m more about savoury than s Happy Easter! 🌸 I’m more about savoury than sweet at this time of day so I’m enjoying a real Easter egg - fresh from the neighbour’s chickens - with sourdough toast ‘soldiers’ to dip in! 😍 (Fred is pretty happy about the toast 😄) I’ll save the salted caramel chocs and Choc chip banana bread and choccie eggs for later 😁 (if there’s any left 😂).

I hope you have a happy and blessed Easter 🌸💕💛
Last night I decided a 6-year-old recipe on my blo Last night I decided a 6-year-old recipe on my blog needed an update. I now present you with a simpler and much more well-behaved recipe for SALTED CARAMEL CHOCOLATES! 

This recipe tended to split if the mixture got too hot while blending, but now it’s pretty much fool-proof. And DELISH!!! 😍 Happy Easter, everyone!! ❤️❤️

Ingredients: cashews (and macadamias if you like), cacao butter, medjool dates, vanilla and salt. That’s it. 😊 (And if you can’t have nuts there’s a nut free variation in the notes under the recipe.)

Tap on this photo via there link in my profile for the recipe. 👆🏻 (Or search “quirky salted caramel chocolates”)

https://www.quirkycooking.com.au/2015/03/salted-caramel-chocolates-dairy-free/
How's the hot cross bun baking going? 😃 If you' How's the hot cross bun baking going? 😃 If you're trying my Grain Free Hot Cross Muffins but don't have a piping bag for the marshmallow crosses, you can just use a piece of baking paper rolled into a cone shape with a very small hole at the end, as I'm doing here. Works perfectly! ❤

Tap on this photo via the link in my bio for the recipe.

- Hot Cross Bun Muffins Recipe: http://bit.ly/grainfreehcb

- Marshmallow Recipe: https://bit.ly/quirkymarshmallow

Other Quirky hot cross bun recipes:

- GF DF Hot Cross Buns: http://bit.ly/glutenfreehcb

- DF Spelt Hot Cross Buns: http://bit.ly/spelthotcrossbuns

[Photo by @luisabrimble]
CHOCOLATE!! Want to make your own for Easter? Here CHOCOLATE!! Want to make your own for Easter? Here's a collection of Quirky chocolate recipes to give you some ideas. They include dairy free and nut free recipes, and are all naturally sweetened. ❤ Make one of the base recipes then try a few variations: 

- make your own Easter eggs with Easter egg moulds
- make crunchy chocolate bark by pouring onto large shallow trays and sprinkling over chopped roasted/activated nuts, freeze-dried berries, or whatever additions you like
- add chopped marshmallows (see below), nuts & dried fruit to make rocky road
- swirl through some nut butter
- fill with nut butter or caramel in little moulds
- make chocolate-covered marshmallows

✨Base Recipes✨

Nutty Chocolate (dairy free): Probably the most popular Quirky chocolate recipe, this one is super creamy due to the nut butter blended through. You can find this recipe in our @lifechangingfoodbook 

Raw Dairy Free Chocolate (dairy free, nut free): The old favoruite - a great base recipe to add to in any of the ways above! Find the recipe here: bit.ly/dairyfreechocolate

Salted Caramel Chocolates (dairy free): These are delicious on their own, or swirled through dark chocolate. Watch the video for tips. bit.ly/saltedcaramelchocs

Peanut Butter Fudge: Make this one if you don't have cacao butter - you only need butter, nut butter, cacao/cocoa powder, vanilla, salt and honey or maple syrup. bit.ly/QCpeanutbutterfudge

Honey-Sweetened Marshmallow Recipe: In case you want to make rocky road! http://bit.ly/quirkymarshmallow

Feel free to ask if you have any chocolate-making questions! ❤

[First photo by @cookrepublic]
Slow-Cooked Lamb Roast Dinner. We had friends over Slow-Cooked Lamb Roast Dinner. We had friends over for lunch last Sunday and I cooked up a tasty and tender slow-cooked lamb shoulder with roasted carrots, gravy made from the pan juices, a big roast veggie salad with tahini and lemon dressing, and roast potatoes with toppings. (And the Chocolate Easter Egg Cake I shared yesterday!) It was a simple and stress-free meal, and everyone loved it. 

I was thinking some of you might like some inspiration for Easter meals this weekend, so here’s the lamb roast video I shared on my stories last Sunday. 

You can find a “Slow-cooked slow lamb shoulder with red wine sauce” recipe on my blog and in our @lifechangingfoodbook, and the roast veggie salad is also in Life-Changing Food. I served the salad with two different dressings - a viniagrette and a tahini & lemon dressing. 

To make the tahini dressing, whisk together:
- 90g hulled tahini
- juice of 1/2 a lemon, or more to taste
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt, or more to taste
- 2-3 Tbsp water
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Copyright Notice

I love it when my readers are as excited about my recipes as I am, and want to share them! I only ask that if you do share my recipes on your own blog or on social media, you only share an excerpt or link, not the entire recipe. Full and clear credit must be given to Quirky Cooking with a link back to the original content. If you’d like to share one of my photos, please contact me for permission. Thank you! Jo x

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